Chaos Paradise
by Zurocha
Summary: It has been ten years since the Ten Desires incident and since then, Gensokyo seems to have enjoyed a bit of peace without incidents. However, when new faces suddenly pop up out of nowhere, will the peace be shattered?
1. 1 : Towers and Mistresses

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_1 : Towers and Mistresses_**

**_Yare yare da ze!_**

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><p><strong><strong>[]

It's a beautiful summer sunrise in Gensokyo, the land of paradise and as if by the command of an art-loving higher power, several wispy clouds hover just in front of the sun, which looks magnificent rising from the east behind the Hakurei Shrine, large and red.

As the sun warms and spreads its blessing of light throughout the dark, cold land and its still-drowsy inhabitants, a shooting star streaks for a second over the Youkai Mountain; a blessing and a window for a fleeting wish for the more superstitious ones amongst us.

Near the foot of the Youkai Mountain and fed by its not-so-feeble river is the Misty Lake; a very large body of water that stretches from the Great Youkai Forest's outer fringes on the Youkai Mountain's lowland areas at the northern shores to the Forest of Magic and the Bamboo Forest of the Lost on the south-eastern and western shores. To the east and northeast are grasslands and a road leading east towards the Farms, Human Village and eventually, if one were to keep walking through it, the Hakurei Shrine.

The scarlet lake's not only the largest source of drinking water, but it is also the humans' and youkai's greatest source of seafood, with everything from snails to even several unique specie of algae-eating shark that both youkai and humans crave and honour as a delicacy. It's also more than large enough to support a large island, which is located a little ways towards the east from the exact centre.

On the island is a large western mansion coloured bright scarlet in over ninety percent of its outside surface area. It has a clock tower with a smaller, rarely-used observation tower on top of it.

That observation tower contains one room and one room only: a small, dusty study with small keyhole-shaped windows on the walls. The only way in and out of the study is a small trapdoor that leads to the clock tower's mechanism control room from where you can exit and enter either the mansion's rooftop or one of its upper floors. As for the observation room itself, there's a desk and chair near one of the windows and a small telescope mounted through it.

It is on the aforementioned chair that the charismatic lady of the mansion, Remilia Scarlet is seated on: one eye trained on the telescope, one hand on a brush and another on a piece of paper she has placed on the desk. On this piece of paper is a drawing so detailed that none would ever guess that such a masterpiece could possibly come from one with such aran childlike physique as her; indeed, Remilia Scarlet, who has ran the Scarlet Devil Mansion for over five hundred years, has the physique of a very young child.

She has crimson eyes and wavy shoulder-length indigo hair with a light-pink mob-cap with a large red ribbon running around the circumference of it sitting on her head. She wears a light-pink silk vest over a white frilly dress. She wears a matching skirt and has a large scarlet ribbon circling her waist and tied at her back. Her vest has a small opening on her back that shows part of her upper back and letting her full black wings through.

Her shoes are black in colour and her socks a cherry pink. And around her neck is a black metal necklace with a triangular crystal with an eerie scarlet inner glow and changes colour depending on which angle you observe it from.

She is stuck for eternity in her nine or ten-year old body for one never ages once one becomes a vampire. However, her mind and most of her personality has gone ahead and developed to maturity. The result is being with both the playful nature with the child and the refined grace and maturity of a lady, which she is. Having servants, she has a lot more free time and boredom than the usual wandering vampires and thus, has mastered more than one genre of art and type of magic, namely; sketching, painting, the violin, the harmonica and the culinary arts, illumination, basic fire magic and particle-based magic.

It is with help of her particle-based magic that she was able to create her sun-blocking scarlet mist over a decade back and got punished for it. Ever since then, she has almost never used any kind of magic for any purpose. She even learned how to create a sphere of darkness around her like a certain youkai, but has found it very inconvenient being unable to see her surroundings and went for a parasol instead. Thus, a regular day at the Scarlet Devil Mansion for Remilia would be running the mansion as a lady would do and randomly sketching or playing the violin in her free time. However, today is not a normal day.

She woke up at midnight and noticed a large silhouette on the lake that she has never seen before. She went to the observation tower and has stayed there since then, sketching what she could make out of the silhouette with her vampire eyes and her handy telescope, which she normally uses for stargazing.

What she has drawn is a vertically-inclined western mansion, very much opposite of her own, which is wider than it is tall, with its only tall point being the clock tower, which is around half the height of the mansion with its observation tower expansion, which is also half the height of the mansion. The drawing itself is so well done that even Michelangelo would turn green in envy; a shining example of over a hundred years of practice.

She looks over her sketch and frowns a bit. It's quite attractive to look at and quite stable in design, she admits. She wonders, however, on how such a massive building appears out of nowhere in one night so quietly- admittedly, her own mansion appeared out of nowhere and in one night, but teleporting such a huge structure did cause a massive magical shockwave back then; traces of it can still be seen in the trees near the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Unlike normal trees, they reverberate with a powerful energy that makes their leaves a waxy gold: having absorbed most of the magical shockwave back then, they have gained magical cores of their own and have been releasing energy since then.

If this mansion was teleported in the same manner as the SDM (Scarlet Devil Mansion), then it would have caused a massive shockwave as well and that would have woken the still-sleeping Remilia. The vampire considers the possibility of the creation of a new and silent instant-teleportation spell, but discards it as impossible. If even personal-use teleportation spells create small magical disturbances, then it would be impossible to cast a spell to teleport a building as large as a mansion without creating any disturbance whatsoever.

She decides that it's time to investigate on this matter herself or rather, has decided. "Sakuya, please come here," she calls.

Her trusted elegant maid Izayoi Sakuya materialises behind her with a very characteristic muted popping sound. She uses time manipulation to get anywhere in the mansion in an instant and the reason why dirt or those that dirty the mansion don't last for more than a second on her watch… a black rat and several others being the only exceptions.

She has dark blue eyes, short silver hair, braided at the sideburns and decorated with green ribbons, a maid's headdress sitting on her hair. She wears an indigo vest over a puffy-sleeved shirt. She has a matching indigo above-the-knees short skirt with a frilly maid's apron on it, black shoes and black knee-length stockings.

"My lady," The maid says as she starts tilting her body forward towards a bow, but before she could do so, Remilia says "Stop!" in a sharp commanding tongue. "You may dispense of the pleasantries. How is the sun-block going along?"

Sakuya does as commanded, straightening up from her pseudo-bow and saying "It is done, my lady," she says. However, for a moment, curiosity takes over her and she asks "But, my lady, we all know that you cannot be harmed by the sun as long as-"

An invisible organ plays a dark, ominous piece out of nowhere as Remilia cuts off her head maid. "It's a secret, Sa~ku~ya~!", she says as she raises her right hand and lightning flashes in the suddenly-dark background.

Remilia jumps back a bit and lowers her right hand, and as she does so, the lighting returns to normal and the organ stops playing. The vampire places her pointer finger on her lower lip as she tilts her head to the side and bats one eye shut. "That was a close one~", she says with a soft, muted voice.

But maybe it was not really a "close one" but a "hit", as a flash of electricity visibly courses through Remilia and jumps to the floor, harmlessly dispersing there. As for Sakuya, she got hit as well; not "hit" as in "hit by lightning", but "hit" as in "hit by cuteness."

As sudden as a cobra strike, the supposedly elegant maid arcs her back and gushes a river of blood from her nose, unable to stand the immeasurable amount of cute-points that her mistress just let loose and falling over, hitting the ground audibly and lying in a pool of her own blood.

Remilia, having observed this scene many times already, knows just what triggered the time-stopping maid and decides to play a bit, acting innocent as she rushes towards the downed maid. "Sakuya~? What happened?", she asks, putting on a mask of worry while intentionally keeping her cute aura. The maid gushes some more blood, though not as much as before due to possible amnesi- err, anemia. Sorry chaps, but I'm just a narrator. I can't read the author's handwriting too well. Anyway, I digress.

The older scarlet grabs her maid by the shoulders and frantically shakes her back and forth, putting on a fake, but utterly realistic troubled tone. "A-are you alright, Sakuya? Answer me!"

Despite being shaken so hard that a normal human would have gone to The Netherworld by sheer force, Sakuya manages to raise her left hand and dizzily say "I'm AlRiIiIghT!"

Remilia fakes a relieved sigh and walks towards the trapdoor. When only her head can be seen through the floor, she turns to Sakuya, who has somehow recovered… Hey- don't ask me how that happened; I'm just an innocent narrator! Go ask the author if you will!

Anyway, it seems like we strayed a bit. As I said a while ago, she turns to Sakuya and, with one eye closed in a cute wink, she softly says "I'll be going to the library then. Take care, Sa~ku

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><p>Meanwhile, on the eastern shore of the scarlet lake, a band has just finished playing on a portable wooden stage. All around them is a crowd of cheering youkai, fairies and a few brave humans, impressed by their expertise.<p>

It is a four-ma, err… four-person band consisted of the famous Prismriver ensemble collaborating with the enchanting singer Mystia Lorelei.

Mystia is a night-sparrow youkai with amber eyes, short pink hair and a pair of bony wings on her back. She wears a brownish-pink cap with white wings on the sides similar to her own, a brown dress with winged buttons, long sleeves with puffy collars, and ending in a short skirt with a frilly hem. She also wears thigh-length black stockings that allow only very little flesh to be exposed between it and her dress.* and for footwear, she has knee-length high-heeled cross-laced boots.

Her right hand is waving at the crowd as her left holds a microphone with a wing design similar to that on her cap.

Around and behind her are the three Prismriver sisters. To the left is Merlin Prismriver, the trumpeter of the band. She has slightly-wavy sky-coloured hair, matching eyes and wears a white vest with black trims and light-blue round jewel-like buttons over a white long-sleeved shirt. She wears a pencil skirt matching the vest in hue and red velvet-lined black shoes. Her head is adorned by a hat by the shape of a birthday cake of the same shade as her clothes and with a pointy tip that hosts a blue sun decoration at the top.

To the opposite side of Mystia from Merlin is the keyboardist Lyrica Prismriver, who has amber eyes and matching short brown hair and wears a costume identical to that of Merlin, except that her theme is red and green instead of white and light blue, as is the case of Merlin. The artefact adorning her hat is different as well; a yellow shooting star.

Further away from Merlin is the violinist Lunasa Prismriver, whose costume seems to be an inverse of Merlin's, being black with white outlines, her buttons red and the decoration on her hat being a crescent moon.

Their instruments float around each of their owners, save Mystia, of course, whose microphone is not enchanted or an instrument in the first place. Lunasa's violin is supposed to be of such high quality that even the best Stradivarius would sound like an ordinary mass-produced violin in comparison. Merlin's keyboard is supposed to be able to play any kind of noise that it has been exposed to, including but not limited to other musical instruments, percussion, and even the pitter-patter of little footsteps. As for Merlin's trumpet, it's… well, a trumpet. Better than most other trumpets, but just a trumpet nevertheless. To say that she got the short end of the stick speaks true to her. As for Mystia's microphone, while not an enchanted instrument, it is the best of the best the kappa have created so far, with a never-ending source of power and its own built-in loudspeaker and an anti-feedback mechanism that can make even the best of OUR creations die in shame.

The night sparrow raises the microphone to her mouth and says "And now, for our next song…"

She is suddenly interrupted when a window the observation tower of the SDM bursts open, earning the attention of all the youkai and humans gathered, the four performers included.

As they turn to the source of the noise, from it flies a certain elegant maid by the name of Izayoi Sakuya, flying over their heads and propelled by a massive nosebleed of hers in the same manner as twin-ion-engines do so with a certain kind of spaceship in a certain movie.

Just before she goes out of sight, she manages to be heard as she shouts out "No Regrets!", and with that, she becomes a single point of light in the distance, who I, the narrator, thinks very much resembles how a certain trio always end up at the end of the day.

A few seconds after the maid disappears, her nosebleed starts raining on the crowd, which is now composed entirely of youkai and faeries for some strange reason.

_"Blood?"_ wonders the four performers as they watch the red liquid staining their clothes. Then, suddenly, they get a flash of inspiration. The Prismriver Sisters suddenly start playing an upbeat disco beat without waiting for cue. Mystia apparently knows what to do as well and starts singing her heart out; "It's blood! Halleluiah, it's raining blood! Chin-chin!"*

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><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: TakerFoxx, for making his MUSGWREE (Mega Ultimate Super Great Wonderful Well-Written Enjoyable Epic) Fic. You could say that his story is a source of inspiration as well. For those who haven't read Imperfect Metamorphosis, please do so. It's the best, I assure you.**

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><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Please note that I have broken down the first two chapters into six smaller and easier-to-read ones after having done a rewrite of the first chapter. These chapters are made with "seams" and if you cut along those seams, you get perfect smaller chapters (Though sometimes, you'll need to stitch it up a bit.)

The second arc, which should have started in chapter four in the original version, along with chapter three will not be broken down like so, as the seams starting there on are much harder to find. Also, chapter Twelve (Now Sixteen or Eighteen, I think) will be large at 9K+words. I'll try to limit it to 9K-14K if possible.

My updates will also slow as I share the same laptop with my mother, who is a teacher and uses it for writing tests, etc., After all, school has started and that, with my mother's usage of the laptop added into the equation, gives me around a two or three-hour window (four at most) to write/compose/download/etc., so I deeply apologise. It's not as if my lack of updates during summer was bad enough…. Ah, *kowtows* Sorry~

Oh, and I trashed centre-alignment in favour of left-alignment.

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><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*Zettai Ryuuki. I think a lot of Eiki Shiki fans have seen art of her in Zettai Ryuuki-ish costumes.

*Chi (blood) rhymes with Chin-chin, I think… a bit. Just barely. Hangs around at 10%. Not at all. Yup, it doesn't rhyme. Besides, I don't think that the Japanese grammatical system allows the subject at the end of the sentence/phrase… though I might be wrong.


	2. 2 : Pray for Prey

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_2 : Pray for Prey_**

**_Let's dance the dance of death, Cheetah. – Pronghorn Antelope_**

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><p>[]<p>

It is a lovely morning in Gensokyo's Great Youkai Forest, and all is at peace… or maybe at least, relative peace, as deep in the said forest, near the great waterfall found to the southern side, terrified pants and the pounding of paws on the soft forest floor break the peaceful silence.

A pale-skinned youkai, wearing rags, carrying a large rolled up leaf and seemingly no more than twelve years in age, with pure white hair and matching eyes, flies fast towards the waterfall, a look of terror on her face.

And it is not hard to see why.

Right behind her are numerous wolves the size of horses, chasing after her with eyes burning in black flames bordered with red… the mark of a hellspawn, or more conventionally, a greater demon.

It is just the order of life—animals are eaten by humans, humans are eaten by youkai and youkai get eaten by greater demons.

The religious youkai and humans managed to persuade the numerous deities of Gensokyo to purify the greater demons with the assistance of the Hakurei miko, and that was long ago. However, for some reason, a few of the greater demons managed to survive, hiding in the dark in order to avoid extermination.

They also hunt in clans, unlike the solitary youkai and humans… and this pack **really** looks hungry, and must indeed be starving to pursue such a small meal.

"Gyaa~!" the youkai shouts in surprise as she barely manages to avoid crashing against a nice tree spiked with extermination charms, her distraction slowing her down slightly.

One of the wolves, seeing the chance, lunges recklessly at the youkai, who manages to escape by only a few metres.

The wolf, being a "greater demon" and like most of his species, unable to fly, could only howl in terror as he is sent flying by his own muscle-power towards the blessed tree.

There was a howl of pain as the charms tied around the tree purify the demon, sending said demon straight to Hell... literally. However, his companions did not do so much as to even pay attention to their fallen comrade, all eyes focused on the fleeing youkai.

"Stop running, rat!" the leading wolf says out loud for the youkai to hear. "Ya best be an easy meal!"

The youkai stays silent and simply flies faster, a grin glancing across her face for some reason.

The grin of a desperate person might as well be the start of insanity.

With a slight chuckle, the youkai unrolls the leaf, letting loose large pebbles –or more accurately, what appears to be pebbles, actually fragile spheres containing holy water- into the forest.

The head wolf, seeing the pebbles, says in his mind "be careful. Those spheres contain blessed water. Step on them and you are purified."

As if in confirmation, the rest of the wolves start dodging the pebbles, a few grazing, but somehow, none broke.

The youkai, failing to hear the sound of purified wolves and breaking spheres, grimaces as she tries to fly even faster, only to be stopped by a sheer rock face.

A cliff, closed on three sides.

"no..." the youkai gasps in shock, her face becoming even more and more mortified as the sound of the wolves' pants drew nearer. "They chased me to this, did they not?"

The footsteps start slowing down, as if to have their prey feel fear—she can't run now, can't she?

And that was when she noticed the small point of light in the forest roof.

"A break?" she thinks, her frown changing into a smile.

"I'M FREEE!" she shouts playfully, flying through the small gap as soon as the wolves appear.

Seeing their prey fly through that ever-small, but present gap, the wolves start growling angrily... all, but one- The leader.

"What do we eat now, Mud?" One of the wolves asks telepathically the leader.

"Wait" the leader responds.

"Can we wait? Our stomachs are empty, for hell's sake!"

"Wait, get it? We'll get something to eat soon enough."

The youkai meanwhile is rocketing up the cliff face, pleased.

"Ah~ saved!"

Looking up, she notices the top end of the cliff, and then snaps her fingers. "Oh!" she mumbles. "That reminds me- those delicious mushrooms grow at the top of the mountain...!"

The top of the cliff nears...

"I'll get some.. YAAH~!"

Out of nowhere, just as she reaches the top, a powerful weight suddenly crashes into her without warning, knocking her out.

"uugh~" she moans. "where am I- Waah!"

The one who knocked her out of the air was a wolf, and not just any wolf, but a white-furred hellspawn nearly twice the size of the black hellspawns that were just chasing her not long ago.

Before the youkai could escape the wolf demon's tackle, she could feel the branches of the forest trees scrape her back, followed not long after by a dull crash and numbing pain coursing through her body.

Paralyzed by the sheer force of the impact, the little youkai could only stare on in horror as the hellspawn wolves surround her, the one pinning her down to the ground –the leader- shifting to its humanoid form- a stone-white demon with a body seemingly composed merely of bones and with burning red eyes, standing at twice a human's height.

"Finally" the bone-like giant speaks up. "We've caught our ever-slippery fish."

As if in agreement, the surrounding black wolves growl in a mocking manner.

Pinning the youkai with his foot, the demon inquires "Now, what to do, my brothers? Eat her directly, or..."

As an evil smile flashes across the demon's face, said demon pulls out a large knife and continues "Or... have some fun first. Which?"

In reply the numerous black demons start barking furiously until the only sound that could be heard is barking, barking, and even more barking.

"Then, it is settled." The demon declares, shrinking down to human size. "We'll enjoy ourselves" he states as he traces his knife down the clothes of the poor youkai, splitting said clothes in half.

However, just before he could pry apart the split clothes, a knife -seemingly from nowhere- cuts into his palm and sends said demon stumbling backwards, howling in pain.

"Who in the world did that? SHOW YOURSELF!" the demon angrily howls as he removes the bloodied knife from his hand, blood pouring from the large hole that the knife made on contact.

"It is I" a young female voice answers back to him. "Aan Hlafdige ond Seofon Hundes? Hvat! Twa Ic Meican!"

The demon turns to the source of the voice, facing darkness... one of the rare spots in this forest, which as thick as it was, has few spots of deep darkness, and within that darkness, barely visible from the small light that gets through, two red eyes and the outline of skin.

The demon growls lightly along with his pack-mates as the figure steps out of the shadows, revealing herself-

She seems to be around eighteen years of age, has pale, pure white skin, red eyes and shoulder-length pink hair.

She wears a pure white silk dress with folds of transparent silk over it, giving it the appearance of billowing clouds, and wears black shoes. At her back are three sheathes- two of steel -one larger than the other- containing swords, and one of wood, holding two twin-scythes.

She seems to be surrounded by a thick aura of slight cool, made evident as a wind blows in the direction of the wolves, making them feel cold, with the suddenness of the drop in temperature making them shiver slightly.

The wolf takes a few steps back before catching a whiff of the unknown lady, and as he does, grins in a most pleased manner, saying "Well, well... a human eh?" and, his face turning feral, adds "and you dare stick a knife through a hell-hound's hand?"

"Yeah! What can you do?" a wolf barks mockingly

"This" the human replies without emotion as she pulls out her left sword -a black-bladed katana with a red jewel at the hilt- and slashes diagonally at the air towards the questioning wolf, creating a powerful shockwave that sends said wolf flying backwards against a tree, which nearly falls over.

Seeing this, the leader demon growls angrily and then screams "Go! Get'er! Kill'er!"

For some reason, the human tilts her head to the side and then mutters "Geta? Is that not footwear? Kira? That sounds familiar somehow..."

Ignoring this, the demons shape-shift into their humanoid forms and blindly charge at the human, who jumps, leaving two of the demons that were trying to stab her from left and right to hit themselves, landing on the blade of the two's s swords and channelling a small electrocution spell through the said blade, immediately killing the demons as the usually nonfatal electrocution spell burns their lungs and spinal nerves, which in turn channels the charge straight to their brains.

Just as the human jumps off the blade, another demon comes up behind her, swinging his sword at her waist, only to be blocked by the black blade as the human jumps, the force of the impact sending her flying towards a nearby tree and uses the inertia of the blow to gain a foothold as she jumps towards the attacking demon and slashes another one on the way, and reaching her attacker, uses the inertia of the jump to drive her sword cleanly through the head of the demon.

Meanwhile, recovering from her paralysis, the youkai barely manages to lift her head, but as she does so, her shirt and dress start to slide off to the sides due to being cut by the demon in half earlier and barely manages to hold it together before her shirt and dress falls apart.

Lifting her head, she sees the pink-haired human, surrounded by wolves, pull out a golden ball with strange red and black engravings on it, toss said ball into ground, and then smoke. A lot of smoke, followed by the pained howling of wolves, which slowly fades as she loses consciousness, still slightly shocked from the earlier landing.

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><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**The human swordsman belongs to ZUROU/Zurocha, etc.***

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Willie G.R., for making his SEABWE (Super Entertaining Awesome Heavenly Best Wonderful Epic) Fanfiction Series. It's the reason this fic even started (or rather, continued, as I was thinking of cancelling it once, when it was still new). Nuehehehe~**** I suggest you check out the Sukima series, if you haven't already; it's wonderful. Wonderful, I say.**

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><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Supah-fly sistah baby!

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><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*She was speaking in a mash-up of Old English, Misspelled Modern English and disassembled grammar. She said "One lady and Seven Hounds? What! Two I make (it)!" ...please don't get any dirty thoughts.

*ZUROU, Zurocha and Zuro** are variants of my online aliases. I'll stick to "Zurocha" after this chapter.

**Used solely in IRC… I think.


	3. 3 : Misty Laik

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_3 : Misty Laik_**

**_Bad Cheetah! –Random biker on a cheating cheetah named Chita Cheater._**

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><p><strong>Scarlet Devil Mansion [note, I'll be referring to the SDM as Koumakan from now on.]<strong>

The light pitter-patter of Remilia's little feet fill the hallway that leads to the basement part of Koumakan, from where one could access two rooms—one of them is Voile, the magic library.

It is to the magic library that Remilia wishes to go to. It is a gigantic square room over two miles wide. It beats me how that works… after all, a narrator's job is merely saying what the author wishes to explain, right? Ah, it's good that you agree with me. Now, on to the show; the library is accessible from the basement-level floor of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but actually, it also takes up some space above ground as well, taking an entire above-ground wing of the mansion to itself. From outside, the mansion seems to be no more than two storeys high, but from within, the scarlet library looks like a city in itself, with fifty-storey bookshelves that dig over a two times as deep into the cement foundation of the mansion as its height. It's impressive and it's no wonder why Voile has been dubbed as the root of knowledge by book lovers Gensokyo-wide.

Of course, you need to know how to fly in order to access all of Voile's treasures for even though there are staircases and platforms towards the higher parts of the bookcases, the first level is two storeys from the floor and consecutive ones are at least this distance away from each other, so more than eighty percent would be out of reach to the normal human. But then of course, most everyone in Gensokyo and even the "normal" human villagers here know how to fly, so it's inaccessible only to outsiders, who have no flight capabilities at all.

Voile itself is already forty times larger than it was ten years ago, most of the new material being donations from a certain godlike youkai as goodwill gifts and by various other unknown mages scattered across Gensokyo with hopes that their knowledge will survive for eternity, long after their deaths. Surprisingly, there are even a few donated by a regular thief; a certain rat that has been stealing less and less often.

Even more surprising is that this "thief" has been regularly returning previously-"borrowed" books and little by little, has started collaborating with the librarian in magic research. That is not to say that the mansion has warmed to this thief though; she still steals and has done damage to the mansion in the past, so as much as possible, they try and drive her off.

Anyway, the library has a small empty space near the door of the library and by "small", I meant a thirty-metre space free from any kind of bookshelf. There's another, smaller pocket deeper in the library, where the librarian goes to read, but that's not important right now.

At the larger of the two clearings, a cauldron containing a reddish wax-like liquid sits on a stand with a complex set of hexes within it, heating the cauldron's contents to a boil.

Carefully stirring the liquid around is Patchouli Knowledge; the librarian of Voile. She's a pure-blood witch with extensive magical capabilities, crippling asthma, an even more intense weakness to the sun than even vampires and is known herself as the great unmoving library due to her habit of never leaving Voile and having memorised nearly forty percent of the information Voile itself contains and thus making herself a mobile, living version of the great library.

She has pale, easily burnt skin, long clay-toned hair which is tied by two ribbons at the sideburns, blue and red in colour and a mob-cap with a crescent moon plate and loads of small ribbons sitting on her head. She wears a loose semi-transparent silky light-purple robe on above a less loose, but still loose full-body white robe tied at her waist by a purple sash. For footwear, she wears white cotton socks over sleeping shoes*

Beside her is a devil with bright scarlet hair, ruby eyes and two pairs of bat wings; two on her back and a smaller pair on her head. She wears a simple black long skirt paired with a matching vest over a white puffy-sleeved shirt. Adorning her sock-less feet is a pair of classy high-heeled shoes that reveal a fair amount of her feet.

She is Koakuma, a literal little devil: a perverted, naughty, yet loyal succubus, to be specific. She's Patchouli Knowledge's familiar and assistant, helping the moving library arrange Voile's countless books as well as serving her mistress her expertly-made tea. She was summoned into Voile ninety years ago when she was still a ten-year-old young demon and still uninfluenced by the other succubae's antics. Nevertheless, her kind's blood carries the perversion and when she reached the physical age of a teenager –that is, when she was sixty years old-, she started having the hots for her mistress, who does not seem to care… or does she?

Anyway, that part is best left alone, my dear readers, as this fic is rated T and not M. so, please, snap out of any perverted fantasies that you may be entertaining between the two for a bit and let us focus on the present.

Patchouli gives her familiar a signal and tips the bowl to the side, pouring the thick, waxy substance into a large glass bottle that Koakuma placed under the cauldron when she saw her mistress' signal.

As soon as the cauldron is clear of all of the shiny red stuff, Patchouli eases it back to its original position and as soon as the deed is done, she collapses into a chair that she has conveniently placed beside her, lolling her head back and placing the back of her forehead as she half-closes her eyes, completely overtaken by tiredness. "Aaa… this much activity does not suit me," she sighs.

However, the succubus beside her seems to have become much more energetic instead, as evidenced by those four wings of hers that flap more and more rapidly with each passing second. Her face slowly turns red—it is clear that she seems to be fantasising about something, but what?

Drool starts dripping down the devil's slightly-open mouth and finally, her thoughts leak out and in a very distant, distracted tone, she starts muttering; "…and when she puts on that sun-block wax, her skin will be all shiny and slippery…"

"Koakuma!", Patchouli yells, wearing a sweet, sweet smile as a vein pulses on her forehead and hiding her hand behind her back.

However, the demon does not seem to notice her mistress. On the other hand, her voice increasingly rises in pitch and she starts babbling faster as her fantasies reach new heights. " …and she can finally wear that one-piece and go sunbathe at the balcony to get a nice, sexy healthy tan to that lifeless skin and do justice to her magnificent cur- OWIE!"

Koakuma's gone too far, decides Patchouli, so the sickly librarian smashes her familiar's head with a paper fan and sending the cute, but perverted succubus on an epic crash-course with the floor. The desperate cries of a pilot screaming "Mayday, mayday!", the clacking of levers and the hiss of an ejection seat's failure to launch its pilot to safety can be heard just before the plane crashed… oh wait. Replace those cries with girlish screams, clacking of levers with the cracking of bones and the ejection seat's hiss with the sound of wind being forced aside by Koakuma's form… yeah. That's right—do that.

In her defence, Patchouli snaps back at her downed familiar, a look of fury in her eyes. "I will NOT wear that one-piece! Those things are only for old grandmothers and snotty-nosed kids, you naughty devi-"

At the last moment, the librarian blushes like hell covers her mouth, realising that she said all the wrong things to say to the most wrong person she could tell them to... not to mention that she acted just a liiiitle bit off-character for a moment. "A…anger can make a person act like who they are not!", she coughs out her excuse to me, the narrator and to ye, the audience.

She tries to make up a better alibi but thankfully, she does not need to; the door to Voile suddenly swings wide open and from it, a red carpet rolls out, SOMEHOW steers to the side just inches away from Patchouli's cauldron, missing it and circling its left half before steering back to track and finally stopping at Patchouli's feet. A shadowy figure slowly walks from the shadows, the darkness making nothing out of it but a small silhouette with bat wings. The figure steps right underneath the doors, leaving the shadows and letting the light identify her as Remilia Scarlet. At that moment, confetti blows from both left and right door frames, showering the little vampire with a rain of colourful paper and glittering dust.

However, it's clear that Remilia was not amused at the display, for the instant the confetti popped, her face suddenly darkened. A few seconds of silence pass in the dark library. Then, her voice showing complete lack of amusement, Remilia hisses; "Who. Set. This. UP!"*

Patchy, having pulled herself together and having fixed that small break in character, turns her body halfway to face Remilia and with half-open eyes, she blankly states "Not me."

Remilia crosses her arms and huffs, slightly inconvenienced at the slight headache the sudden flash of innumerable flashing colourful dust did to her oversensitive vampiric eyes for a moment, but otherwise not minding it a bit. She came here for one thing, and that one thing she'll get. Setting her eyes on Patchouli, she suddenly dashes forward, grabs the magician by the waist and then flies out of library; all before Sadako could yell "Video!" and honestly before Patchouli could even notice.

All the librarian knows is that the walls, floor and roof of the mansion suddenly blurred together, coupled with an intense rush of blood away from her head and a helplessly dizzying sensation. In a few seconds, her body adapts to the speed, her weaker-than-average heart pumping harder and faster to deliver the much-needed blood to the brain.

As consciousness returns to her, the first thing she notices is Remilia's cold arms wrapped around her waist and pulling her through the mansion. "R-Remi! What's the meaning of this? REMI!", she screams as she flails her arms around in an attempt to break free. _'Let go! Let go!'_

Remilia speeds up, driving the weak-bodied librarian back to disorientation again as blood drains from her brain once more. Immediately, her heart tries to catch up and in a few seconds, blood is once more flowing into her brain, albeit with higher pressure than before and that can be seen in Patchouli's flushed face.

The corridors fly by, and when she is sure Patchouli is conscious again, Remilia says right in Patchouli's ear with a smirk on her face; "Let's just say that I want to go somewhere and I'm taking you with me~"

Patchouli immediately tries to reason, but only manages to utter Remilia's name in a weak voice before she breaks into a coughing fit; courtesy of both her asthma and the extremely high blood pressure Remilia's speeding is giving her. She tries to speak again, only to end up gasping for breath. Defeated by her own body, she gives up and lets her arms limp.

Before long, the gigantic doors to the mansion appear in the distance, closed. With credits to vampiric speed, quickly gets dangerously close and Patchouli panics, obviously terrified at the prospect of getting splattered all over the doors; Remilia is carrying her from behind, so if there is someone who gets to hit the door first, it's Patchouli.

Thankfully, the doors open at the last second –when Patchouli's face was a mere inch away from the richly decorated wood- and Remilia quickly slows down and lands gracefully on the front yard of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, where Sakuya is waiting with a parasol in one hand and a basket in another.

Remilia puts Patchouli down and for almost thirty seconds, the librarian blindly stumbles about, even more dizzy and disoriented than when Remilia was carrying her—her heart was beating rapidly to force blood into her brain despite the terrifying amount of pressure it takes to do so and when Remilia stopped, that pressure was taken away. The result is a jolly lot of blood rushing into her brain at high pressure; it's a good thing she's a youkai and what just happened leaves no lasting damage to her, for a human would have died from that alone.

Remilia ignores the Patchouli's incomprehensible moaning behind her, walking towards Sakuya and asking whether everything she asked for is ready, to which the maid confirms with a small nod. Remilia trails her eyes to the basket and looks inside. Indeed, the everything she wanted is there… along with a little extra; a vial of blood, a small jar of the sun-block Patchouli made earlier, a couple of sandwiches and best of all, the extra—a black lace two-piece bathing costume.

Remilia's face, which has been set in a look of contention so far, turns into a grimace as she notices that innocent little item sitting right beside the sun-block. "What is this for?", she demands, glaring straight at Sakuya, who shrugs and says "Lady Patchouli's familiar requested that I include this item for her. Apparently, it's for lady Patchouli to wear, my lady."

Remilia suddenly gets a veeery smart idea, chuckling darkly as she grabs the bikini and turns around, staring straight into Patchouli's soul with eyes glowing red. The librarian, having just recovered from her daze, is down with her back to the ground and helpless. Seeing Remilia approach, she could not help but shudder at the demonically murderous eldritch horror that is the bikini.

The next second, Remilia jumps on the purple librarian, who can't help but scream and moan like a zombie as her clothes are ripped off her without her consent and the bikini strapped onto her forcefully. Sakuya, who did nothing but hold our camera and observe from a safe distance, turns the camera to herself, blushes and fidgets as she dreamily utters out something along the lines of "My lady is so playful today~".

"Actually, Remilia did strip Patchouli to put that bikini on her and describing so would make this fic "M", but that would suck right?" explains the dreamy maid right into the camera and and she makes sense. Had she not moved our viewpoint to her drooling face, then we would be observing an "M" rated scene.

Cheers, Sakuya. Remilia and Patchouli return after a few seconds, emerging from a convenient dust cloud. Remilia, of course, is smiling naughtily with her hands to her hips while Patchouli walks behind her, clearly ashamed as evidenced by her beet-red face. Realising that she is no longer under the cover of the dust cloud and thus in full view of the camera, she yelps and tries to cover herself but only ends up making inappropriately seductive poses. Of course, there's no need to go to specifics and it's up to ye to make those scenes up in your minds, but after a few seconds, she grasps the fact that she just can't hide herself and just made herself look silly.

Of course, it's not only the bikini gracing her skin; there's also some of the red waxy sun-block she made earlier, giving her skin a rather… 'Healthy' or 'slippery' shine or glow if you will. We've already gotten too far, haven't we? Just don't spray blood all over the screen trying to imagine the too-hot image of the introverted librarian, okay? That would be too bad.

She growls cutely and then asks "Why do I have to wear this again?", her face flustered and her tone, weak. Unfortunately for her, Remilia steals the spotlight before Sakuya could say a thing and the only thing she could give to the poor magician is a sympathetic glance.

"Let's go!" cheers Remilia with a too-enthusiastic tone in her voice as she takes off… with a bit too much enthusiasm. Not that it matters, of course. Seeing her mistress go, Sakuya shrugs, gives Patchouli one last glance, shrugs, and then takes off. Patchouli follows a moment later, limping as she takes off into the air.

Before a minute passes, the Scarlet Devil Mansion fades into nothingness, obscured by the omnipresent fog of Misty Lake—it becomes much more noticeable a half hour after the sun shows its face and the thinnest when midnight hits. Thus, Remilia chose the best time to observe the other mansion as now, even Remilia's eyes could only penetrate the fog as far as roughly fifteen feet around her; approximately twice the distance she is above the water. Save for the water below her, it's a blinding white all around her- a moist veil of white.

Sakuya and Patchouli see even less, with only the slightly blurry figure of Remilia breaking the painful monotony.

Through the blank whiteness, the giggling of innocent fairies and the sound of water splashing as they innocently play in the lake give the scene a rather eerie feel and indeed, it would indeed be frightening to humans like Sakuya if only were her mistress not a demon herself.

Patchouli has taken the lack of vision to help her retrieve her clothes from the basket where Sakuya placed them shortly after Remilia stripped her. Of course, she used her time manipulation! Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to do it without anyone noticing.

However, just as soon as she puts her clothes back on her body (over the bikini, of course—she wouldn't dare strip in public, even with the fog in the way), she starts feeling a strange aura that drives her magician instincts restless. After a few seconds, she realises that it's the aura a certain charge attack makes when the magical energy is still being concentrated.

The aura suddenly changes into that of a high-powered danmaku shot and shoots towards Remilia's direction. "Remi! Watch out!", Patchouli c alls out to her vampire friend. Being a mage by profession, Patchouli detected the aura before everyone else. However, her warning appears to be unnecessary, as Remilia detected the aura herself at the same time Patchouli gave her the warning; the vampire herself has dabbled with the magician's craft more than once in her long life and thus has gained sensitivity to auras… though her "radar" of sorts is much less receptive than that of full-time magicians like Patchouli or even a certain rat that keeps on raiding their mansion.

Remilia swerves to the right just in time to avoid a high-powered energy blast the size of a boulder. A sphere of darkness enveloped in lightning-like scarlet energies, it hurtles past Remilia and hits the water below, where it creates a deafening thud and a five metre deep crater in the surface of the water that fills up rapidly and creates a disturbance in the air that temporarily clears the fog. A few faeries were apparently near the blast as well, as frantic cries of terror fill the air all of a sudden.

Remilia, Sakuya and Patchouli observe the disturbed waters below for a few moments before turning to face the one who dares attack the Scarlet Devil in the presence of two other powerful beings close to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits:**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

I wanted to rewrite chapters 1-6, but in the end, I ended up rewriting only one. The other six will go through a smoothening process instead.

I changed the names of a few original spells, since they felt a little awkward, and as usual, many apologies for the suuuper long break, but I was distracted by Midi composition, arranging music and posting them online. Uehehehe~! Now that I'm done with chapter one, I'll do a read-and-review streak on many of the fanfictions I've missed. NekoKuro and WillieG.R., here I come!

Oh, and I apologise for the unforgivably long hiatus, but I was too distracted by music (Right now, I'm suppressing my urge to put writing on hold and compose music in FLstudio instead) as well as… ПР０ん... nah, just joking. Actually, it's music and games. I don't know if I can get back the feel to return to writing… maybe when Willie-sama returns to writing full-time? Yeah. I seem to be more eager to write whenever I read his fics. Uehehehe.

Oh, I also modified the disclaimer a bit and came up with something different from the Willie G.R.-Dono's disclaimer format (Which was the original; The old disclaimer, such as the ones you will see in arcs 2-3 is more or less identical)

"Assists" are people who willingly or unwittingly helped me in the particular chapter through comments, etc.

"Special Credits" refers to people I just have to mention… like the person who made the OC that was the inspiration of one of my OCs, etc. The special credits are one-chapter only, so I give the Special Credit to the person I have to credit only for that chapter; for example, for helping me shape an OC, that person will be mentioned when the OC is first introduced. No mentions will be done in the following chapters as it will take up too much space.

Aaand… yeah.

* * *

><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*Is that the proper term for those soft shoes made entirely of cloth?

*For some reason, when I type an exclamation mark followed by a question mark, the question mark ALWAYS gets deleted. Take that in mind every time you notice a question ending in an exclamation mark. In that case, read them as having question marks after the exclamation marks.


	4. 4 : Shopping at the Human Village

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_4 : Shopping at the Human Village_**

**_Oh my beloved moon! How lovely thou art! -[From the song, Bulan /moon/, Translated]_**

* * *

><p><strong>Great Youkai Forest<strong>

Kotori wakes up to see green above her. Green and sparkling light... she is still within the forest. Soft humming comes from her left, along with the crackling of wood-fire and the tantalizing smell of her ever-favourite mushrooms… apparently as a soup, as she can hear a thick liquid being stirred around as well.

Wait, what? Wood-fire? Mushroom soup?

"Waah~" with a jolt, the youkai gets up from her laying-down sleeping position and sees beside her, a metre or so to her left, the same human she saw earlier, save that her clothes are now covered in blood and torn in several places.

Hearing the youkai's sudden rising, the human turns to look, and, with a smile on her face, softly says "Oh, I am glad to see that thou bist awake now. How was thy sleep?"

The human notices how the agitated the youkai seems to be, every fibre seemingly coiled to strike.

Noticing, the human can't help but chuckle. "Oh, worry not. I won't eat thee... and those wolves are dead. Here, have some soup."

Eying the bowl, the youkai tries holding back, but the mere sight of her favourite food -as a soup, no less- easily disarmed her, and, with a slight pause, reluctantly accepts the small wooden bowl that the human was holding out.

"I just picked whatever mushrooms out here looked edible" the human hums, drinking her own mushroom soup, but seeing the blissful smile on the youkai's face, grins and adds "but it seems like it doesn't matter anyway"

Lifting her face off the bowl, the youkai timidly asks "Miss... May I ask for your name?"

The human puts her bowl down and, placing her hands to the ground beside her, says "No... I won't tell thee yet. Not in the open at least... but for now, call me 'Elle'"

"Elle." the youkai repeats, her brows rising slightly in interest. It sure is curious... for someone not a reporter or a thief to be using a pseudonym in Gensokyo... and even so, in Gensokyo, reporters and thieves use their real name anyways, as she knows so well.

"So, may I ask thy name in return?" the human asks, scooping another serving of the mushroom soup into her bowl.

"Kotori." The youkai answers. "Kotori Shimada"

"Kotori." The human hums. "Ahh... Such a sweet name... fit for someone like thee, nu?"

The youkai blushes, stammers, and finally notices the state of her clothes.

"Oh, hey! I thought this was ripped in half... how...?" the youkai gasps in surprise.

"Ah, that? I fixed it." The human says in between sips. "Please be careful though... the thread might not hold if thou givest too much strain to it"

With a nod, the youkai utters "I understand."

"Anyway, thou art safe and rested, so I guess this will be adieu" says the human, walking away calmly.

"Wait"

The human turns to face the youkai, looking down at the ground.

"Yes?"

Clutching the dirt, the youkai asks "I cannot defend myself... I can only Fly; I can't even do danmaku"

"Oh... then that means-"

"May I come with you?"

"Of course- Yes", the human replies as the youkai beams in delight.

* * *

><p><strong>Human Village [Hitozato]; Square<strong>

"Ah, so you were looking for the place where they sell carts?" an old woman said to the one who introduced herself as Elle before, to which the pink-haired human nods politely in response. "Ah, yes, Señora."

The old woman chuckles, "My, there's no need for you to be that formal, *ihihihi~* anyway, the shop is that way"

"Many thanks." She said, bowing politely and then glancing at the place the old woman was pointing to, and sure enough, fifty or so paces away is a shop with varied carts at the entrance.

As she walks towards the shop, Kotori, who was right beside her, asks "Um, Elle-san? What are we going to buy?"

"Hnn?" the human grunts, her eyebrows raised "ah, yes... We're going to buy some necessities."

"And need a cart for that?"

"Fu-Fu-Fu~ It's going to be a lot, Kotori"

Now, it's Kotori's turn for her to lift her eyebrows. "But we don't have a dwelling at the least...! how are we going to keep safe the things we buy?"

"I did say necessities, ya?"

"Don't tell me..."

"We're going to make our own house!", 'Elle' exclaims. In her mind, an image of a sign pointing to a large western mansion flashes, saying _'El Castillo Verde' _in bright colours.

"Yep, build a house~ a house~ in a place where plants live eternal~ yes, eternal~", the human suddenly sings.

Kotori sweatdrops "Um... right..." and, with a quick snap of her fingers, she says "Oh~! That's right... Elle-san, You still have not told me your name yet."

"That..." the human hums, "oh that... my real name is... Sayundobiigafujan ni Ginsapamato-puso, though I desire you call me by my name's pronunciation in a different manner, which is Sayuntubignanaghulan Ning Gintonsapaskamatayambuso"

"Waai~" the youkai gasps, waving her arms around. "I~ cannot~ remember~ it~" she mumbles with slightly dizzy eyes.

"Just call me Sayu then." The human replies with a slight chuckle. Turning her face to the heavens, she then hums happily "Oh Moon! How beautiful art thou~"

The youkai stares at Sayu, dumbstruck.

"Those that confide to thee lose their grieva-" she suddenly stops. "Oh, it seems like we're here."

Before Kotori could either comment or react, Sayu rushes into the store and then rushes back out, pulling a large black cart.

"Wha!" the youkai exclaims, her eyes wide open in shock. "That was F-A-S-T!"

"Oh yes~", the human replies. "To infinity and beyond it was~"

"Err" the youkai sweat-drops once again.

"Nn?"

"Anyway, how did you buy that, Miss Sayu?" Kotori asks with an innocent look. "How did you get the money?"

"I exchanged mine" answers the human, showing the youkai the hidden pockets in her dress.

_'No wonder her dress droops' _thinks Kotori as she sees the nearly bursting money bags.

"Whaa~t!" The youkai utters in disbelief "You're Rich!"

"Uhm, what...?"

"..."

"Shall we go buy something?" the human inquires while motioning Kotori to the large empty back of the cart.

* * *

><p><strong>Human Village [Hitozato]; Shopping District<strong>

Half an hour later, the duo have shopped almost everything in the human village, including, amongst other things, A gargantuan cart that could barely go through the human village's gate to hold their first cart and numerous purchases, almost all of the varnished hardwood available for sale, construction materials, peach seeds, gardening tools, and magically sealed steel safes. What is really eye-catching in the pile of merchandise though, would be the fat Mobile Armoured Unit-esque robot pulling the cart, sold by the kappa as powerhorses for phenomenal prices.

Kotori sits on top of the man-sized, but bulky robot, piloting it while Sayu walks on ahead, showing where Kotori is to go.

Kotori now wears a green whole-body dress with a contrasting purple obi at her waist, and at her back, fastened to her through the obi, is the fused sheath of the scythe. Lower down, she wears a wooden tall geta.

As for Sayu, she now wears a black kimono with pink flower designs snaking from the bottom to the top, a black mop-cap that has a red ribbon running around it, bunching into a golden ribbon at the side, where it looks like a ponytail, has her two swords sheathed at her waist, and wears a black Bakya*.

As they walk towards the village's gate, Sayu looks to her side. And, noticing a Jewellery store, stops, turns around, says "Kotori! Let's go buy a few!" as she points at said store.

"Hai~" answers Kotori as she activates the robot's lockdown system and climbs down just as the **_NitoriTek_**_(tm) _force field coats the robot and the attached cart.

However, just as Kotori turns to face Sayu, she notices that the human is no longer there.

Looking around nervously, she sees the human standing in front of the jewellery store. Surprising, considering that the store is at least twenty metres away and Kotori took no less than two seconds to get off the robot.

_'This is insane. What happened?' _she thinks as she walks over to Sayu, who, seeing Kotori beside her, takes a small headband and presents it to the youkai, saying "It looks so nice, care to try it on, Kotori?"

The headband is black with pink lines and on one side, a ribbon tied into a rose design. Putting on the headband, Kotori then shyly asks "and... how do I look?"

Covering her mouth with her fan, Sayu says "Perfect."

Kotori and Sayu start giggling, but are cut short when the Shop's owner suddenly barks "Hey, Lady! Are'n'tcha buy'un zat o' not? Fifty Yen."

Kotori immediately glares at the shopkeeper with a look that says '_Take that back or I will kill you_', but the man -who wears black jeans, green shirt, and holds a large bottle sake in his left hand, by the way- seems to ignore this. Sayu on the other hand, immediately hands the man twice the amount stated.

The man takes the money bag and then starts chuckling as he counts the excess money, thinking '_my, my, ze lady doesn't look at what she pays... heh_.'

Seeing the smug smirk on the man's face as he counts the coins, Kotori could feel her body getting hot in rage. At once, she turns to Sayu and asks "Miss Kotori! Why did you not scold that rude man? And you payed him twice the amount of what you just bought!"

Looking at the little youkai solemnly, Sayu says "Oh, my, Kotori. I stick to the saying 'be polite even when others are not, when others cannot, and when others could not. Besides, I also plan on buying something that also costs 50 yen."

Eyeing the stall, she scans the merchandise before picking out a bracelet with carved wooden beads priced at 45Y, and at once, reaches for it. However, a pale hand grabs the bracelet at the same time at her.

Sayu turns to look at the person who also turned her head to look at her.

She appears to be somewhere around 12 to 13 years old, has sapphire eyes, snow-white short hair, and wears a green vest over a white shirt, a green skirt with white borders, and a headband identical to the one Sayu just bought for Kotori, except that it is pure black and the ribbon is in a more classic ribbon shape, as opposed to a rose.

She also has two sheathes at her waist, one longer than the other, and floating near her, a white soul the size of her body.

The young girl mutters under her breath "Yuyuko... sama?" as Sayu bows politely, saying "Ara~ If you wish to buy this one, young lady, I can pay for it if you wish. I already did."

"Sayu-sama" Kotori calls as she walks to Sayu's side. "This would be Youmu Konpaku: the half-ghost gardener of the netherworld. That soul floating around her would be her ghost half."

Donning a whimsical smile, Sayu turns to face Kotori and then says "Please, call me Zurocha" and then, leaning forward towards Youmu, reaches out her hand as she says "Ah, nice to meet you, Señorita Youmu. Call me Zurocha."

Youmu takes her hand, surprised for a moment by the deathly cool of the skin which contradicts her life force and human aura. Getting over it, she moves her hand in a handshake as she says "A pleasure to meet such a nice person as you, Miss Zurocha."

Ending the handshake, Youmu thinks '_No human could have skin as cold as this. Is that you, Yuyuko-sama?_' as Sayu says "Oh no, the pleasure is all mine.", she herself thinking '_is it just me, or did she cringe a bit there?_'

Sayu turns to get the second wooden bracelet available, pays for it promptly, and then explains for the shopkeeper that her previous 100 yen was for the headband and the bracelet in Youmu's hands.

Afterwards, Sayu instructs Kotori to turn on the robot or, as the kappa called it; _"**M**ulti-purpose **A**utomatic **W**orkhorse",_ Youmu observing the scene with some confusion. For some reason, Kotori and Sayu interest her.

"Ah, I have to go now. Farewell." Says Youmu as she starts walking for the village's easterly gate.

"Kon'inara" replies Sayu as she climbs the robot's back and sits beside her companion.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Elle/Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Etherdrone, for making her… slightly confusing (at first), but enjoyable fic. Don't confuse Shinki for Shinki though, because Shinki is always Shinki and can never be Shinki because Shinki is Shinki and not Shinki. Why? Because, Shinki is just not Shinki because Shinki is Shinki and not Shinki for Shinki is Shinki and not Shinki but Shinki. **

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

You might have seen it for four chapters already, but I modified disclaimer a bit and came up with something different from the Willie G.R.-Dono's disclaimer format (Which was the original; The old disclaimer, such as the ones you will see in arcs 2-3 is more or less identical)

"Assists" are people who willingly or unwittingly helped me in the particular chapter through comments, etc.

"Special Credits" refers to people I just have to mention… like the person who made the OC that was the inspiration of one of my OCs, etc. The special credits are one-chapter only, so I give the Special Credit to the person I have to credit only for that chapter; for example, for helping me shape an OC, that person will be mentioned when the OC is first introduced. No mentions will be done in the following chapters as it will take up too much space.

Aaand… yeah.

So far, the chapter seems blank and too daily-life-y.

Ah, and I also modified the chapter format as a whole… though that might not at all matter.

* * *

><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*Bakya - A Philippine toothed wooden sandal similar, if not identical to the Geta: Usually made of bamboo and has two teeth that run side-by-side throughout the sandal's length. (by comparison, the geta teeth run across.)

*Translated lyrics of "Bulan" which talks about Bulan/Bujan/Buwan or Moon.

*Thou Bist is my preferred spelling of Thou Be'st which is pronounced as /ðaʊ bist/ and it means the same thing as "Thou Art."

*You can find Thou Bist/ Thou Be'st in German as Du Bist.

MAW – this is similar to "MAU" (from RF)


	5. 5: Batting Betting Bats on Bats

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_5: Batting Betting Bats on Bats_**

**_These children... they grow so fast! –_****_Eirin, after injecting a growth hormone on a lab rat._**

* * *

><p><strong>Misty Lake<strong>

The one to attack the group is not alone it seems, so _attackers_ would be more appropriate than _attacker_. There are three humanoid youkai bats flying in a triangular formation just ahead of them. The one at the centre is a female with burning red eyes that has silts for irises, flowing purple hair, pure brown wings and a black military general's uniform. The two to her sides wear a futuristic sort of black-coloured shiny armour that looks like something that one could pull out of star-wars*. They each hold metallic submachine guns and wear helmets like those worn by air force pilots, with only their black wings showing through all that armour.

The one in the front has her left hand raised and palm open; a "stop" or "hold it" signal, obviously. Her eyes set on Remilia, she says, her face straight and voice emotionless; "Pass, you may not."

Rage slowly wells inside Remilia as she hears the _bat_ utter those despicable and disrespectful words; a mere _bat_ telling a _vampire_ what to do in her own turf? The nerve of it all! Nevertheless, she successfully keeps her calm as the bat continues; "My lady asked us not to let anyone within two hundred metres from our home. Please turn back as you three are near the line. Otherwise, we will expel you with force."

Remilia pushes her anger back and curiosity takes its place. There's got to be something interesting going on if they are going to keep people away from such a large area and that makes her even more determined. With a vile smirk on her face, the vampire reaches into one of her skirt's pockets and then laughs like a maniac as she pulls out her ultimate weapon, ace, almighty artefact and the thing that everyone so craves!

Patchouli and Sakuya gasp at the sight of this oh-so grand item of which's presence they are not worthy for and kowtow before the revered weapon—the almighty pendulum!

Her eyes trained on the pendulum, Remilia slowly turns until it faces the bat trio before them and, closing her eyes, she starts swinging it as she chants; "You will let us through. You will let us through. Please tell me that you will let us through."

After a few seconds of uttering this holy chant of the heavens, the vampire gets impatient and screams; "LET US THROUGH, DAMNIT!"

Remilia slowly opens her eyes and sees the leader bat staring at her with a straight unamused* face. With eyebrows raised in wonder, she asks; "are you crazy?"

The vampire immediately rages at the prospect of being mocked –however lightly- by a mere bat who just happens to be blocking their way quite rudely. In ire, she throws several light spears straight at the leader vampire, who reacts by moving to the side and lowering her left hand; the "go" signal, it would seem, for as soon as the other two see it, they engage with Sakuya and Patchouli without delay.

"You will let us through!", screams Remilia in with determination lacing her angered tone. As for the bat, she tries to fly circles around Remilia, closely matching the vampire's speed as she tries to circle the bat as well, both of them shooting random patterns at each other.

As for Sakuya and Patchouli, they cross each other and then fly off in opposite directions. Before long, the fog obscures the others from view and each of the SDM crew are left with their respective foes, isolated from each other by the unnerving lack of vision.

Sakuya's attacker starts raining bullets and lasers on the maid as soon as he/she catches up to her, to which the maid retaliates with a barrage of her own knives. As for Patchouli, as soon as she stops flying, her opponent keeps some distance and says in a deep baritone; "It violates my honour if I were to raise my hand first against a lady. You go first, miss."

Patchouli gives her reply in the form of jets of water that shoot up from the lake below. The bat soldier dodges in time and shoots a laser towards Patchouli, which the magician evades with ease. That is, until the laser suddenly bursts into a stream of bullets that circle around Patchouli, slowly closing in.

The frail witch hurriedly creates a massive bubble of pure water coated with barrier magics that she uses to swat away some of the danmaku and making a cheap clearing for her to stay in as the rest of the danmaku converge on where she was a while ago.

Back to Remilia, she and the supposed commander/general of the three attacking her companions rain high-level danmaku on each other; Remilia fighting with red clouds of mist in danmaku form that home in to her opponent as scarlet spheres that move outwards and circle her clockwise make it a bit more difficult for the bat, who attacks with spearhead-like black danmaku that crackle with yellow sparks of electricity that fly away from her in straight lines and blue spheres that stop with every heartbeat and then fly off in a new direction after every pause.

Needless to say, an ordinary human would have died just from getting hit by one bullet alone. However, these two are evading each other's bullets with impressive speed and timing; Remilia even took the chance to cackle like an insane demon while the bat youkai looks almost… bored.

The commander/general increases the intensity of her barrage; something that Remilia doesn't seem to mind. That is, until she fails to see one of the blue spheres. Then, she finally minded it when she gets hit by the painless bullet, which apparently contains paralysis-inducing hexes for suddenly, Remi loses control of her body; it's almost as if the communication between her mind and her body had been cut and in fact, that might even be correct.

In a very painful moment, all of the bat's danmaku suddenly home in towards Remilia, breaking off from their formerly random flight patterns and creating a bright explosion as they contact with Remilia, one by one. In an attempt to at least lessen the damage the redirected danmaku is doing to her, Remilia unleashes a burst of scarlet aura that blocks off about a fourth of all the bullets and blow all off the fog in the vicinity as a bonus, allowing Patchouli and Sakuya see their opponents better.

"…!"

Sakuya hears Remilia's tortured screams and, distracted from her own fight, turns to look at the ball of scarlet light that surrounds her mistress. This momentary distraction allows her opponent to blast her directly with a comet-shaped danmaku. Thankfully for her, it collides just in time with a handy stray danmaku that flew off from Patchouli's side of the battle and creates a powerful explosion that does nothing but blow the elegant maid backwards a few metres.

As for Remilia, the glow around her soon disperses, followed by the cloud of smoke that covered her. She's a mess; her mob-cap was reduced to mere scraps of cloth sitting on her hair. Her skirt has innumerable burn holes and has the entire half of it burned off, baring her entire left leg and from certain angles, her white panties that are intact, fortunately. Her top is riddled with burn holes as well. Surprisingly, even with her clothes in such bad shape, her hair and body are somehow intact. Of course, one could say that the look on her face would be rather grim and unamused.

For once, surprise adorns the youkai's face as she asks; "You blocked it… but how?"

Remilia doesn't bother to reply to that bat youkai's question and, with her vampiric speed, flies off towards the youkai and angrily howls "YOU BASTARD! YOU RUINED MY GET-UP!" as she furiously scratches the other's clothes out with her claws drawn, ripping the uniform into ribbons and exposing a white garment which appears to be some sort of armour. Remilia finishes with a full-body tackle that sends the bat youkai on a crash course to the grassy surface below—the battle has already been pushed all the way to a small island wherein the destination of Remilia's lies.

The youkai skids along the ground, creating a large gash on the ground and a job lot of smoke before she violently comes to a halt when her head collides with a rock and throws up a mushroom-cloud of dust around her.

While Patchouli and Sakuya's battles with their respective opponents heat up, Remilia glares into the dust cloud the commander/general youkai kicked up. It soon parts, revealing the youkai standing straight and eyeing Remilia, her skin finally showing a few wounds and bruises here and there. She narrows her eyes and, in a calm voice, asks Remilia; "I give you three one more chance. Turn back, or I will unleash my most powerful spell."

"Like I would!" screeches Remilia; going to this place out of curiosity is one thing, and she would leave honourably if she were to be defeated… but for her to be driven away without a real defeat by a bat, who are supposed to be under the command of vampires? Insolence! Remilia blasts the youkai with a miniature Gungnir that the bat dodges at the last moment. With a dark tone in her voice, she says; "Fine. You will regret this, vampire."

While the two pick up on their battle with scarlet danmaku that colours all of the Misty Lake's mist, Patchouli unleashes a fist-sized fireball at her opponent. It misses him and he responds with lasers that criss-cross lasers that Patchouli reflects with a mirror-like bubble of mercury. Meanwhile, Sakuya, some distance away, steadily fires volleys of knife-ades* at her opponent, who dodges each nimbly. However, her opponent appears to be moving too much and the next volley flies straight towards Patchouli's opponent, who goes down immediately.

With that one down, Patchouli and Sakuya gang up on the remaining youkai, who cannot evade the combined offensive and falls down not long after his/her comrade. Now with both of their opponents down and lying on the ground below with silly spirals for eyes, they notice for the first time the sudden change in the mist's lighting. They turn around just as a stray volley of Remilia's bubble danmaku fly towards them and dive to the ground, letting the barrage fly above them.

Remilia evades several vermillion spearhead and yellow needle danmaku and then retaliates with a wave of her scarlet bubbles, similarly-coloured scarlet bat danmaku following closely behind.

The bat youkai flies upwards to evade one particularly close bubble and finds out a bit too late about a bat that was flying just above it, getting hit fair and square in the stomach. Remilia takes a moment of rest as the fierce danmaku exchange temporarily stops. Then, after a second or two, the bat youkai raises her left hand to her forehead in a two-finger salute, a spell card between her pointer and ring fingers.

The bat youkai's voice seems to echo eerily as in a crypt as she declares, "Nightmare Sign [Hell for Four]"

The vampire hisses in excitement, hoping that this bat's spell won't disappoint her—she did say that she'll pull her best card, right? The stronger-than-average magical shockwave this spell created also speaks clearly of its power level.

She is not to be disappointed.

After the initial magical shockwave that always comes with every spell's declaration, the youkai flashes brightly, prompting all observers to shield their eyes lest they be rendered blind for a while. As it fades, Remilia opens her eyes and is greeted by the sight of the youkai she was battling earlier, multiplied by four.

The sight of a (slightly) powerful opponent suddenly multiplying like that would trigger a heart attack in weaker and less experienced beings. However, for Remilia, she only felt surprise; it is not as hard for her as it is for others, as she has had experience in dealing with four opponents at once; credits to her sweet little sister, who often had to be put down by Remilia whenever she had tantrums. She has had a similar technique, so Remilia feels like she's already known how to handle four opponents at once.

Remilia grins with anticipation as she blasts all four of her opponents with danmaku, who all return fire. In a few seconds, the fog is bright red once more; a strange and slightly unsettling sight to those who had seen a similar red mist once before.

_'Eurgh! I must find the real one soon!'_, she moans inwardly as she flies upwards. From her experience with her younger sister, it's the real one that must be brought down first in order to cancel the card.

_'…just one hit…'_

She flies side-wards to evade a spearhead, but ends up flying into the path of another one that digs itself into her shoulder. Remilia winces, expecting pain, but is surprised when the expected prick fails to come. _'They're just illusions!'_, she realizes. "What a trickster!", she snarls, angry of the fact that she was played by a mere bat… but who could blame her? Her sister's clones shoot real danmaku.

Remilia groans, wondering just how she could single out the real one from the fakes. After observing the bullets, she gets a strange idea and continues to dodge, eventually tracing which danmaku came from who. One-by-one, she grazes her right arm on several of the danmaku, taking pain from the third one she touched.

The vampire grins, tracing the danmaku to her target and then, singling out the commander/general, she lets out a victorious laugh before firing a mini-Gungnir at her. the youkai's eyes widen in shock before the spell cancels. However, before Remilia could even lounge in her victory, the youkai pulls out another spell and declares; "Support Card; Alternate Form [Nightmare Avatar]"

A cloud of darkness not unlike that of a certain youkai appears around the bat like a blanket. It disappears quickly, revealing the bat, who has now changed in appearance; Her eyes now are a brighter shade of red, with silts for irises and her black brown wings have given way to a pair of black demonic wings. Her stone is the colour of slate as well and she hisses, revealing her sharper, longer fangs. Her nails have doubled in length and sharpness as well and her hand has started burning in a black and red flame.

Remilia stares in disbelief, mistakenly thinking that the bat has somehow turned into a vampire. Actually, she has turned into a demon bat like those found in Makai, but whether she is a Gensokyo bat or a Makai bat is another story.

After the short but striking transformation, the youkai scratches the air, releasing five crescent-shaped beams of red-edged black energy that would easily put the Getsuga Tenshou to shame with their combined firepower. Remilia barely manages to dodge one and her right leg, which was just a foot away from one of those beams, suddenly turns red.

Remilia gasps in the pain, which would compare to her bathing in the sun, being eaten and then being spat out by a black hole. She barely dodges a second barrage, managing not to get any part of her near any of those beams this time.

She activates her undeveloped magicians' sight, seeing as that these beams will be easier to see through their energy signatures than by sight as every beam is emitting basically the same amount of energy as Patchouli's royal flare per second. As a bonus, she makes a discovery; every wave of these crescent slashes take a lot of mana out of the transformed bat youkai—it won't take long before she runs out and is rendered unable to battle.

Remilia moves around, trying to evade the beams, but accidentally runs into one at high speed and could only scream in pain as another one hits her from the back.

"MISTRESS!" howls a worried Sakuya, knife in hand. Just as she is about to fly off to aid Remilia, however, the bat she downed earlier shoots her with a barrage of bullet-like danmaku. "I can't have you interfering with their battle.", he says.

As a new battle between the bat youkai and Sakuya starts, the beams ganging on Remilia fade, leaving behind one messy Remilia: all that remained of her hat is now all but gone with the entire back part of her dress and most of her dress. Her back is now fully visible and her dress has been reduced to a mini-skirt of sorts.

Remilia screams a stream of profanities at the bat youkai, eventually ending with her declaring a spell; "Taboo [Divine Border Breaker]"

The card glows a deep scarlet as if floats, spinning in place in front of Remilia. Then, as it disappears with a bright flash, Remilia's aura manifests itself around the vampire in the form of a radiant scarlet mist as she stretches her arms to her sides in a fashion reminiscent of the character [十] and slowly spins clockwise.

Last Word-worthy amounts of gigantic Gungnir spears spawn behind Remilia and fly in the direction of the bat youkai, who cautiously dodges the spears to the best of her skill. To her dismay, however, every spear that gets within a two-metre radius around her turn into masses of scarlet bubble danmaku in various sizes that quickly accelerate to random speeds towards the youkai, who now has to evade both the spears and the pesky orb danmaku.

It did not take long before the bubble danmaku storm finally gets the bat youkai, several shots scattering and hitting Sakuya's opponent, downing that bat youkai as well, all in one second. The next moment, two over-exaggerated mushroom clouds burst from the Misty Lake, shocking the nearby spectators and possible voyeurs into hasty and panicked retreats.

Remilia smirks in delight as the two bat youkai hit the ground with back-breaking crunches, then, suddenly, she feels an ominous presence behind her, accompanied by slow and hard clapping. Slowly turning her head, she comes face-to-face with the terrifying sight that is called the "Smiling Hakurei Miko of Doom".

The vampire flinches in terror of the almighty Reimu almighty …err, Hakurei. Yup, that's it.

Reimu Hakurei, also known as the Shrine Maiden of Paradise: she has deep brown eyes with a touch of maroon and long black hair that flows freely behind her back. She seems to have just woken up and bathed, wearing nothing but a simple white yukata and of course, underwear, but let's not get into that level of specifics for now. She apparently is also planning to stay aloft, she doesn't have any footwear on.

Remilia's throat runs dry and her limbs start to tremble, her teeth clattering in fright and her entire being ready to flee from who she admits must be Gensokyo's strongest. Still, she reasons that doing so might merely provoke the maiden and so, she decides on diplomacy. She is just about to ask, however, when she realizes that the maiden's face is all red, blood flowing from her nose and her limbs quivering in excitement.

"Uhhh… Reimu?"

The unsettling smile on the maiden's face widens as she slowly hovers towards Remilia, stopping as soon as she is two metres away from the terrified vampire. Slowly, she raises her left hand towards the vampire and chants; "Frolic in Day, Clothes be Away."

Remilia's eyes turn into squiggly circles as she tilts her head to the side, confused. Then the thought hit her. _'My clothes—they're ripped!',_ she realizes, letting out a shocked gasp when she does. She tries to calm herself down, taking a long, deep breath and then exha… was that a camera's flash just now?

For a moment, Remilia's self-control drastically drops, though she manages to control herself from doing more humiliating stuff as several leftover spears fly towards Reimu, who casually catches each and every one of them, much to the vampire's surprise.

Reimu spins the spears in her hands and comments; "These danmaku are horribly weak. How did they ever beat those youkai like that?"

Remilia herself cannot explain either, and is at loss for words. She's even more at loss for words at what Reimu does soon after; she takes a bite from one of the spears and heartily chews... whatever danmaku are made of before swallowing it and flashing a wide smile. "Delicious!"

The overly ridiculous idea of someone eating danmaku and actually getting satisfaction from it overloads Remilia's brain and she falls down to the ground. Reimu, spotting the vampire's falling unconscious body, throws a talisman and leaves, carrying the delicious danmaku spears and casually snacking on them.

At the same time, a certain person with a camera takes a few more shots at high speed and leaves.

As for Remilia, unconscious, she falls down towards the ground, landing inside a rock conveniently shaped like a coffin. The impact of her body shakes a small lid-like rock near it and makes it slowly fall down over Remilia. Just as the rock was about to close the stone 'coffin', however, Remilia recovers and her godly punch breaks it in two. "What Go***mned idiot set this up!", she screams, her anger obvious. Of course, I, the narrator, am not responsible for her plight.

"Shut up, idiot narrator. SAKUYA!"

In response to Remilia's hurtful words, the elegant dog of the devil appears in front of her mistress with a short, but respectful bow after giving the dear narrator a case of death by knife after reading her description.

"Get me some clothes. Quickly!", Remilia barks, which is ironic since the dog is Sakuya between the two of them.

"Oui, Maitresse.", Sakuya woozily says right before she disappears to knife the narrator and get some clothes for her mistress, who, dumbstruck, mutters; "French? But where did she learn it?"

It's a mystery and really, who knows? And, just as Remilia finishes that sentence, the speedy maid reappears, holding a clean set of her mistress' clothes, identical to the ones that were just torn up.

What else should I say? From all the way from the forest of magic, numerous youkai flinch as from the misty lake come the terrified scream of Remilia "Stop Sakuya, stop!"

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Thanks to the guys at the LetsDanmaku (Forums and PPirc) and #Touhou (Freenode [Irc]) for being nice and giving me feedback on my compositions.**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Hyuppie! Hyuu! Hyuuu! Kyuu!

Auuu~ I haven't written Furan-chan yet~ I'm sad now.

* * *

><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*Imagine startroopers with black-coloured uniforms and with black wings sticking out of their backs. And oh, replace their helmets with biker helmets.

*This is not in the dictionary, I know, but it has been used in fanfictions all over the Touhou page of this site, so…? I use it. I feel that this word has been accepted here. Heck, even native English-speakers in the letsdanmaku IRC use it, so….

*Baritone: Low voice equals male.

*Cannonades… Sakuya Version.


	6. 6: Holy on the Water

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_6: Holy on the Water_**

**_Our mind talks in Hertz, and music can also be measured in Hertz. Is music a manifestation of particularly musical brain-waves?_**

* * *

><p><strong>Road outside the Human Village [Hitozato]<strong>

Sayu and Kotori ride on top of their wonderful large robot, a convenient shield activated and making it look like there's some sort of glass on top of it. For the past minutes, the two have been discussing where to go live in and the human keeps on asking her youkai friend about the various locations in Gensokyo. Surprisingly, she seems to know a lot and with high detail as well.

"...also, that place is very hard to go walking around in. To say that the regular person needs luck to get out of there is not at all an exaggeration." Says Kotori, describing the Bamboo Forest of the Lost to Sayu while. "The only known dwellings in the place would be a large mansion called Eintei that also serves as Gensokyo's clinic and is home to a Lunar Immortal, and a small hut where a Phoenix Immortal lives."

Sayu looks like she is deep in thought, fan covering her mouth before turning to Kotori and then saying "That is where we will go."

Kotori's eyes turn to large circles as her mouth drops to the ground. "Wha~t? But I just told you that the place is very hard to go around with. Also, the two immortals kill each other on a daily basis!"

Smiling, Sayu shows Kotori a piece of paper with names of the places she described so far, as well as ratings, all written in a flowing cursive script.

(Note A)

**Human Village:**

**Liveability- 0**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- 0**

**Fore****_ʃ_****t of Magic:**

**Liveability- .2**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- 0**

**Great Youkai Fore****_ʃ_****t: **

**Liveability- .5**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- .3**

**Underground:**

**Liveability- .7**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- .4**

**Mi****_ʃ_****ty Lake: **

**Liveability- .3**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- 0**

**Youkai Mountain: **

**Liveability- .6**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- .5**

**Neþerworld:**

**Liveability- 1**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- .9**

**Bamboo Fore****_ʃ_****t: **

**Liveability- .1**

**Chance of Di****_ʃ_****turbance- .9**

Her eyes darting across the paper, her face looks more and more confused by the second. Raising her head for a bit, she asks, with confusion in her voice, "You considered the Netherworld?", to which Sayu replies "The Netherworld? Maybe, Mabye not".

Sayu returns to scanning the paper for a few more seconds before finally lifting her face from the paper for real. And, after taking a deep breath, she says "so, you rated them according to their Liveability and Chance of Disturbance, Right?"

Sayu nods in response, still covering her mouth with the fan.

"And the lower the rating, the higher the Liveability, and in the case of Chance of Disturbance, the lower, the more likely we would be disturbed, am I right?"

Once again, Kotori receives a nod from Sayu.

"So, you chose the bamboo forest because people are less likely to disturb, as well as being very liveable because of lack of youkai, am I right"

"Ah, yes. Thou bist sharp, Kotori" answers Sayu, her face showing some amusement. "I despise noise so I would love such a silent place as the Bamboo Bush. Also, there is quite some space, so we could train all we want."

"Ah... you're right" Kotori yields, looking down at the paper before asking "but how do we get out? Of the forest I mean."

"Rote memorization" says Sayu, staring off into space. "I would also plant some subtle markers leading to the exit of the forest."

"Ah, I got it" says Kotori, handing the paper back to Sayu.

"So, how do we go there?" asks Sayu, adding a few more lines in the paper, which now has "**Bamboo Fore****_ʃ_****t, Cho****_ʃ_****en**" at the very bottom.

The little youkai looks at her surroundings and, after pondering on it for a while, says "Directly to the east of our current position."

"East it is then" says Sayu as she spins a wheel connected to the floor of the open-cockpit robot's cockpit, which happens to be where the head would be in most other robots.

"Yay!" exclaims Kotori in a not-so optimistic tone.

* * *

><p>It has been a half hour since Sayu decided on the location of her house-to-be, and the bamboo forest can be seen from where they are already.<p>

Sayu looks pleased as she hums while playing with a small thumb-piano. Kotori, on the other hand, is twirling a short ribbon around her fingers distractedly while imagining herself using danmaku and making a pattern she saw once. Bullets to the side that then close in like wings. _Icicle Fall_ was how the boastful fairy called it once.

**_BON_**

"Kotori..."

**_BON_**

Kotori remains spaced out, visualizing the pattern of Icicle fall, trying to detect any faults...

**_BON_**

"Kotori!"

"Uwaa~ wh-what is it, Miss Sayu?" the youkai babbles, snapping from her trance and waving her arms in the air.

"We're under attack" says Sayu, who is staring at the wolves jumping against the erected shield of their robot. And, by the looks of it, the shield is failing.

"Miss Sayu... those wolves..." Kotori mutters blankly as she reaches for two scythes at her back.

One of the wolves starts sprinting towards the shield, which now has glowing fractures all over.

"I Know" replies Sayu to Kotori as she jumps off the robot at the same time the wolf leaps. And then, just as the wolf breaks through the barrier, Sayu slashes sideways in a spinning fashion, cutting the wolf in that very instant.

Sayu lands, her blade bloodied and positioned horizontally as behind her, the body of the wolf hits the ground, dead.

At the same time, another wolf leaps at her from the left, but is stopped with a slash at the stomach by Kotori, her right-hand scythe's blade passing cleanly through the wolf's body.

As Kotori warily walks to Sayu's side, thirteen pairs of red eyes glow from the darkness, all glaring at the duo, surrounding them.

"I killed you all already" Sayu states coldly as she stares at the two wolves lying dead near her.

"S'arry miss, but 'ere are only a few ways ye can kill a demon. Plain murder is not one of 'em." Says a rough voice from straight ahead of her as the speaker -which Sayu recognizes as the wolf demon- reveals himself.

He is in giant human form and looks the same as before, only now holding a large bronze sword.

"What then, are the methods of murder we have to execute to kill one of thy kind?", Sayu inquires as she wriggles her left hand fingers inside her skirt, pulling it back a second later, her fingers tangled with prayer bead chains which she apparently hid inside another hidden pocket.

"That's one of the ways..." the wolf starts, his voice sharp "...but! You lack something! Prayer beads by themselves won't keep us dead for long."

Smiling sweetly, the human tosses one of the chains which then, with loosened strings, disintegrate, several of the spheres hitting and breaking by the feet of two wolves that then start to howl as if on fire.

"Blessed water beads! Avoid them!" the leader barks as he shifts into his wolf form.

The wolves howl in response as they too, shift into their canine forms and then charge at the human.

_"Hinhitabu na kare~ Owani kara ira!"* _flashes across Sayu's mind for some reason as she dodges a wolf that was charging from the front. The wolf then gets slashed promptly by Kotori as Sayu stabs a wolf that was attacking Sayu from behind.

Just as a wolf claws her back, Sayu throws two of her chains into the sky, where the strings loosen as before, the blessed-water beads falling like rain and purifying the four dead and one live wolf on the field.

"Hey_, Boss. Do you tink we should go through wid dis? Dey are wet all o'er in blessed water. Hey, dat rhymed!_" mentally says a wolf from the left of the pack leader.

Frowning, the leader responds "_No. Shift into human forms. It will be easier to avoid the holy water on their clothes and blade in that form. Use your swords_"

Seeing the wolves staring at her and not moving cannot help but bring a certain thought to Sayu's mind. "_répondez s'il vous plait_". She ponders on this for a moment before shrugging it off. "_I don't even know French._"

The wolves launch themselves without warning, brandishing bronze swords that Sayu and Kotori barely manage to block.

"What~!" exclaims Sayu as she walks a few paces back. "Thou knowest the art of the sword?" she continues and then, holding the handle of her second sword, finishes "This will be pleasurable then!" just as she pulls out her second sword.

It has a black handle with a silver hilt that has a crystal-clear jewel at the centre. Its blade is black, shaped in a wavy manner with a not-so-shallow golden groove at the centre that matches the shape of the blade itself.

Staring intently at the blade, Sayu mumbles under her breath "Agakara... it has been a long time." Before glancing upwards, and seeing a demon charge recklessly with sword poised to strike, blocks with her first sword and stabs her other into the chest of the wolf as she continues "Let us slay once again."

Sayu pushes the demon backwards as withdraws the bloodied sword from the flesh while two more charge at her from the sides.

Kotori intercepts the one on the right, blocking the bronze blade of the wolves' with her left scythe. However, just as swings her right scythe, the demon backs off. Sayu, on the other hand, blocks with her right-hand sword –Yukizakura- and then kicks the demon in the side, sending said demon flying several metres away.

The demons regroup, obviously not happy. On their side, however, Sayu isn't happy either. The blessed water is no longer completely covering their bodies and that would allow the wolves to use their fists and have their skins touch Sayu's and Kotori's without worry of purification.

The two groups glare at each other before Kotori and Sayu position their blades defensively at the same time the wolves charge with blades swinging down in synchronization and their strength bearing their toll on the arms of the two who nevertheless continue to stand the strength of the assault. The ground underneath them didn't do the same though, the two slowly sliding backwards until their backs contact with their robot's metal body.

"This is madness" mutters Sayu as she kicks one of the wolves in the nether regions. "We cannot take them all~!"

"Madness?" asks Kotori from beside her as said youkai imitates what her companion has done. "This. Is. Horrible! We're outnumbered!"

"Three to two" replies Sayu as she motions with her lips, the two wolves they kicked, lying on the ground in pain, crutching their throbbing golden spots.

"We can do this!" screams Kotori as she tries to push back the two wolves pushing her down, only to be pushed back.

The wolves chuckle with evident amusement at the youkai's futile action, and by now, the fallen two have returned to sense are once more, and seeing their chance, rush in to stab the two that are now struggling to even keep the defence.

"Hey! Over here" calls a young female voice from the left "Five on two is just dishonourable!"

The wolves turn to look at the person speaking, but before they could even make her out, she turns into a blur and then the two wolves that were supposed to deliver the killing blow suddenly fall to the ground, dead.

The blur turns around for another pass, but the leader demon suddenly turns around and blocks the sword, and slowed down, Sayu could finally see hers and Kotori's saviour.

**Youmu Konpaku.**

"Ah, it is thou." Sayu says as she kicks the demons teaming up on Kotori, her arms still sore from having to stand so much raw force.

Sayu's hand soon recovers, but all the while, all she could do is look at Youmu Konpaku as she slices up the leader wolf and the remaining two in less than four seconds.

Fully recovered, along with Kotori, Sayu turns to Youmu, bows, and then says "we thank thee, Miss Youmu Konpaku. If not for thy help, I don't know what may have been to us."

Blushing slightly, Youmu hurriedly says "T-Thanks, Miss Sayu. N-No need for you to bow like that." And, her face moving into a grin, she continues "I saw how you battled back there. You're good. Care to come to Hakugyoukuro for a spar? I invite you."

"I accept, Miss Youmu. I will go there one of these days, but it won't now" answers Sayu as she wipes her swords clean.

"See you then" says Youmu as she turns her back to Sayu, who calls out "Wait!" And, as Youmu turns around, she asks "May I know how you found us?"

A small grin appearing on her face, Youmu responds "I don't know. It might just be fate, but I was heading to the bamboo forest to collect some bamboo shoots. I heard some noise, so I came to investigate. Anyway, see you~!"

"Ah, Farewell" replies Sayu as she climbs aboard the robot once again, destination- Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Elle/Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: **Neko Kuro, for her (I think it's a /her/) two fics, both of them jewels enough that, if given to a publisher (and if selling fanfictions were allowed), might just become a best-seller. There are a few fics that have successfully jumped from being fan-fics to original stories, and both SIC and SCD have more than enough potential to join them. I also appreciate hers, Willie G.R.'s and SorrowfulReincarnation's support (in the form of PM-based encouragement and much-appreciated reviews) I also thank Neko Kuro for pointing out some overdone suggestiveness on a few chapters.**  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Yay! So youmu's in and Sayu effectively forges a contact with The Netherworld through her.

Uhuhu~ I want some GRAPES!

BUDOU! PUTAO! BUDO! GRAPES!

* * *

><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

Note A: that is the long S in her list and, if you ever read twilight (þe book, not þe horrible movie), you may have seen it in Edward's handwriting. The IPA uses it for (SH), and it is this IPA-encoded version that I used. It is identical to the original long S though, so read it as S. This is to give her a sense of antiquity as in the past, the short s (S) was virtually unknown amongst the English. Instead, they used the long s (_ʃ_**) **

She also uses the letter Thorn (þ) which stands for TH which, later, upon the removal of the letter Eth(ð), both TH and DH in the same manner the modern digraph TH does in English. It is this Dual-Reading version that she uses. Of course, the long S (_ʃ_) and Thorn (þ) will be used only in her writing.

Kon'inara - Bisaya, 'If it be so'. This is the eastern dialect (my dialect; called Kana, though I prefer calling it Kara) form. The western dialect form (Sugbu'anon) would be 'Kung Ingon'āna'; Literal translation of "Sayonara".

*_"Hinhitabu na kare~ Owani kara ira!" _This is Bisaya. It means "It has happened~ Rain on them!"


	7. 7 : See the Copy…Bat?

**_NEWCOMERS_**

**_7 : See the Copy…Bat?_**

**_Yare yare da ze!_**

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Back again to Remilia and Friends… how did you enjoy the commercial break? We return to see Remilia playing seeding her garden, Patchy gorging herself on a sweet liquid stored in a small pot labeled "Hunny" and Sakuya bouncing around, and with a whoosh, pounces on Remilia who moans "why me? Why, oh why, oh why~?" Oh wait, scrap that.

Remilia and Co. stand in front of the gate of the large mansion that was in the island, the vampire holding the bat's leader under her left arm while Patchy and Sakuya at her back with the remaining two tied up behind them.

The childlike 500 year old vampire looks determined for some reason while Patchouli writes frantically on an empty book she must have brought with her. Sakuya, standing to the right of the magician, stands still, showing no emotion.

"Hnnn…. Sakuya, come here" says Patchouli for some reason and, just as Sakuya turns to face the magician, said magician fires a single fireball straight at Sakuya's face but for some reason, the ball stops just inches from its target and falls to the ground, revealing a solid metal sphere.

Recovering from the shock of being attacked by an ally so suddenly, Sakuya asks, a dangerous tone lacing her voice "What was that for, Patchouli-sama?"

The witch ignores her, staring at the metal ball, and, after writing a few more notes, mutters "Just as I thought…"

This catches Remilia's attention and the vampire turns around, asking "what is it, Patchy?"

Ignoring the sharp and dangerous stare from the Sakuya, Patchouli calmly explains "There is a strange aura around this place. A product of two spells laid on top of one another. The first spell…" the librarian takes a small pause for breath before continuing "the first spell cancels our danmaku and turns it solid. Because creating matter with magic is much more tiresome than using magic normally, this ensures that anyone who attacks is to tire easily"

"And the second?" Remilia asks.

"As I said earlier, the first spell forces us to make matter from magic. However, matter does more damage than magic, as you could see…" Patchouli says, pointing at the metal ball at Sakuya's feet.

"Indeed, that ball could have killed Sakuya while your fireball spell could not…" muses Remilia as she realizes how close her beloved maid was to being killed.

"The second spell is laid above the first. It forces the caster to coat the solid danmaku with a thin layer of magic that prevents the spheres from damaging anything until they hit they get out of the spell's range, which should be this entire island, if my assumptions are correct…" replies Patchouli, the magician rapidly writing down yet more notes. (Seriously, how much ink does she have in her pens?)

"Then that means…." Sakuya starts, her face slowly turning blue

"That we are sitting ducks armed with rubber claws at this moment. Our only offense, in case we are attacked by the inhabitants of this place -who, without doubt, must have created a small loophole in the spell specifically for them-, would be Sakuya, who does not use magic to propel danmaku. We could use our fists… but I doubt we could get close." Calmly says Patchouli.

"And you say that so calmly" mutters Sakuya before she backs slightly upon noticing the glares from her companions. "w-what?"

Remilia and Patchouli look at one another, at Sakuya, and back at one another, nod, and then, turning to Sakuya once more, bow, and blushing, say "Take good care of us~!"

Sakuya stumbles backwards, her eyes spinning. The sight of her mistress with such a cute bow doing such a cute fashion would have turned her red, but the magic words are clearly tipping her over the edge. Had not Patchy said it the same time as Remi, she would have flew back to the SDM from sheer nosebleed then and there.

Before the maid could comment, from the other side of the gate, loud electronic suddenly flashes, and just as the trio turn to look, a perverted voice starts singing "I'm too sexy for my love… too sexy for my love… uh~ love is going to lea~ve~✩!"

Patchouli's and Remilia's faces turn red immediately in an attempt at suppressing their amusement, or laughter… or both.

Sakuya, on the other hand, has been pushed over the edge could not stop spraying glorious liquid from her nose as she stares at her mistress, managing to moan "so cu~te" just before fainting.

Remi stares at the fallen Sakuya and says "Sakuya has fainted", a dull explosion echoing, followed by a dust cloud on the other side of the gate flying out all of a sudden just as she finishes speaking.

Patchouli, Remilia and even Sakuya, who managed to recover, regroup. The magician stares at Sakuya for a while before Remilia raises a spiky yellow crystal, saying "Max Revive", to which the purple bean sprout raises her eyebrows to. She is about to say something when loud trumpet fanfare echoes from the dust cloud.

"Welcome, Visitors, to the Shadow Mansion. We hope that ye are ready for your en…" a female voice starts, saying in a proud tone before falling to coughs as the fanfare starts to fail.

The three raise their eyebrows in unison at the dust cloud, the voice mumbling as the dust cloud clears, saying "Geeze, These dust clouds just ruin all of my good entrances. Auu~"

The dust fully clears, revealing three youkai standing near the now-open gate, one scratching her behind with one eye closed, the remaining two holding on to dusty trumpets and standing at her sides.

The one at the centre has crimson eyes and matching hair that reaches all the way down to her knee and wears a golden vest with a red lace on top of a green top that is tucked under a black knee-length dress at her waist, where a golden plaque writes out the hiragana 'せりあこ✩らい '. Lower down, she wears a pair of brown slippers over green socks.

The ones at the sides have brown pupil-less eyes, shoulder-length crimson hair and wear plain black gowns that nearly hide their matching black shoes and socks.

The one at the centre immediately notices the stares from the trio in front of her and, realizing what she is doing, stops, scratches her head sheepishly and then says, friendly-like "oh, ehehehe~ hi there, visitors. Welcome to the shadow mansion. I am Lia Seriako, the gate guard and your guide. We've been expecting you, aha ha ha ha~"

The trio sweatdrop as the gate guard leads them in.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Meiling stretches her arms to the side before jumping merrily off her small bed, which, small as it was, still takes up half the space of her small guard house.<p>

She has messy scarlet hair that reaches her lower back, has blue eyes, and wears thin pajamas.

China walks groggily to her closet, which she opens… groggily.

The gate guard freezes for a while, looks around her, and then, shaking her fist in the air, angrily exclaims "I'm not China!" before returning to her drawer.

After a quick change of clothes (move the camera away, please), she hurriedly runs out of the door, now wearing green traditional Chinese clothing and a green beret with a golden star on it, said star containing an engraving of the kanji for 'Dragon'.

Gazing at the early afternoon sun, she stretches her arms and then, in a carefree tone, says "What a B-E-A-utiful morning!" and, not realizing that it is already early afternoon, takes her position by the gate.

"Such peace…" she mutters before -miraculously, considering she just woke up- falling asleep, her back against the wall.

* * *

><p>Back at the shadow mansion, after assigning the defeated general and her three companions at the gate, Lia accompanies the trio inside the mansion, a large western piece of architecture not unlike the SDM (Scarlet Devil Mansion) in outward appearance. However, the inside is a completely different story as Remilia and Co. learn when they enter its main hall- a futuristic white space with doors every eight or so metres from the ground.<p>

Sakuya stares on in awe at the doors high up, wondering how anyone could use those.

"Oh, the inhabitants of this place are mostly bats by the way, which is why there are doors so high up" says the gate guard all of a sudden.

Shocked, Sakuya asks "did you just read my mind?"

A drop of sweat rolling down the side of her head, the gate guard says "no. Err... that was just a wild guess from my part. Oh, here... mistress should be on the other side of this passageway"

Patchouli takes a short look as the gate guard opens the small door to the mentioned passageway by pressing a blue screen with numerous displays. The magician does not know it at the moment, but she is actually seeing a transparent touch-screen keypad.

After pressing one last button, the door slides open with a hiss, revealing a quite dark passageway. How long it is, Remilia could only wonder.

Fifteen minutes later...

"Are we there yet?" asks Remilia, sounding bored.

"It doesn't seem so, mistress..." replies Sakuya, sweating as she thinks _'how long IS this passage?'_

For the previous fifteen minutes, Remilia and Co and the gate guard were walking through the path, which didn't go in a straight line as Remilia had hoped, but snaked vertically and horizontally. Once, they even had to jump into a deep well-like hole straight down and another time, had to climb an insane flight of stairs.

"We're here!" happily declares as she opens a small door leading to a white small and round room that has a door to the opposite side and another keypad at the centre.

Lia hurries to the centre of the room and hurriedly punches some keys on the keypad and, as soon as she is finished, the other door slowly opens...

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, there echoes a strange ripping sound which is followed not long after by strange laughter at an unknown and dark location.<p>

"Finally, I have opened it..." says a female voice in an ominous tone as a pure white vortex opens, illuminating the speaker and briefly revealing a puffy dress before she enters the vortex and disappears, along with the mentioned vortex, in a bright flash.

The figure re-appears in the middle of a dark forest, the bright vortex rapidly closing behind her, and without delay, she runs blindly forward, stepping on ground which, by the sound of it, has just been recently rained to and now is the texture of cow manure.

Disgust in her voice, the figure shrieks "Gya~! I just HATE it when the ground is like this!", and promptly starts flying.

A mile or so away from a figure, another figure awakes, and, grabbing a strange round object, says "I sense her..."

The second figure starts clenching and unclenching her fist, feeling the orb, and, raising her head, starts cackling in an evil fashion "This will be fun~!" as she grabs a strange object that looks suspiciously like either a bat or a bottle.

* * *

><p>Back at the shadow mansion once again, Remilia scarlet looks nothing less than irked.<p>

The childlike vampire lady stares at the problem in her hand, her eyebrows narrowing as her already red eyes turn red.

She glares for a few more seconds before balling her fists and, raising her hands, angrily cries "No! I cannot! I cannot, you hear me! I cannot!"

Sakuya, at the vampire's side, looks on worriedly as her mistress cries even louder.

"I JUST CANNOT!" the queen of the night screams, tears welling up in her eyes. And, rushing to Sakuya, embraces the maid and continues "I CANNOT... WRITE DOWN THE COMPLETE VALUE OF PI!"

Sakuya stares at the crumpled piece of paper in Remilia's hands, takes it, and then reads "3.1415926535896… mistress, you've done a good job already."

"Really?" the vampire asks, looking at Sakuya with glassy eyes.

The maid immediately bends over and crashes against the ground, generously spraying blood from her nose with a goofy expression and dizzy eyes as beside the downed maid, Patchouli, having heard Sakuya declare Remilia's answer not long ago, says "you did good Remi, but you messed up with the last number."

The vampire pouts and mutters "nobody's perfect..." her cheeks reddening and dealing the fatal blow to Sakuya who has just barely recovered, sending the maid writhing on the ground once more, blood flooding the glassy white floor of the room they're in.

Suddenly, a door behind Remilia opens as a female voice says "My, my... I leave in order to ready drinks for all of us, telling you to find ways to amuse yourselves at the same time, finding you challenging yourselves to find the value of PI, and now, your maid is lying on the ground, dying from lack of blood? You truly are a strange lot."

Remilia turns around to see a purple-haired woman probably in her late teens, with scarlet eyes, and wears a black vest over a red dress with long sleeves that has jagged edges, and at the back, a peculiar bulge and two massive ribbons rivalling that of Remilia's, the one at the top coloured pink and the lower one coloured black.

Lower down, Remilia could see her black slippers and, higher up, a black mop-cap with a scarlet ribbon that bunches to the side in a fake silver ponytail and most noticeably, on her hands, a silver tray holding nothing else but the drink of the gods- Red Tea!

Holding a gentle, closed-eyes smile, the lady sets the tray down on the table and, after taking her seat, motions for Remilia and Co., Sakuya now recovered, to sit down on the table with her and, as they do, she crosses her fingers in front of her and then says "now... I didn't introduce myself yet, didn't I?"

There is a sudden burst of heavy energy and, after it fades, somehow, the tea now stands ready in front of each of them, the tray gone and, after the lady takes a sip from her cup, she mutters "thanks, Lai..." as she closes her eyes peacefully.

Remilia is already taking a sip, and to the left, Sakuya stares at the tea, wondering what just happened while on the opposite side to Remilia, patchouli drops a single sugar cube before drinking, all awaiting for the strange lady, who has closed her eyes for some reason, to say something.

The lady opens her eyes slowly and, taking a look at Remilia, says "I am Masayuka Sintaku, the mistress of this glorious bat's mansion you are in. Now, care to introduce yourselves?"

The vampire looks at Sakuya then at Patchy, and, lacing her fingers in front of her in a manner similar to Sintaku, says "I am Remilia Scarlet, the mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and the queen of the night. As for why I came here, I don't know why..."

Sintaku stares on as Remilia stares at Sakuya, said maid putting down her tea and saying "I am Sakuya Izayoi, the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

Without waiting for a glare from Remilia, which she gets nevertheless, patchouli says "I am Patchouli Knowledge, the librarian of the great Voile which could be found within the Scarlet Devil Mansion, a close friend of Remilia Scarlet and a magician."

All four sigh for no reason and just sip tea blankly for the next few seconds before Sakuya compliments "oh, this is good!"

"Ah, glad you liked it, Miss Sakuya" says Sintaku as she crosses her hands again. "as for why you came here, miss scarlet... I think I know why."

The childlike vampire raises her eyebrows in confusion as she says "oh, enlighten me then."

Setting down her tea, the purple-haired lady says "so, you see... I can manipulate to some extent, the powerful force of consciousness. My ability allows me to implant thoughts into the back of your conscious mind, you see... and that was what made you come here all of a sudden. I saw you flying outside at full moon and implanted those thoughts into your mind."

"So even though I knew what I was doing, at the same time, I did not know what it was, am I right?" calmly replies Remilia.

"Yes."

"So, what was the reason for you to bring me here then?"

"Simple..."

* * *

><p>Once again, back at the SDM, Meiling seems to have woken up in the middle of her nap, and is staring at the now nearly non-existent fog in a trance before her lower part suddenly growls.<p>

Patting her stomach with her left hand, Meiling turns to face the mansion and mutters "I think it should be time already... strange, why did not Sakuya fetch me?"

She stands there for a few more seconds, yawning widely and timely closing her mouth at the same time a leaf flies by her maw, shocking the dragon slightly.

Spitting the leaf with disgust, Meiling moans "ugh~ now that's it. I've got to go inside and get something to eat, whether Sakuya fetches me or not!"

And just like that, the gate guard runs into the mansion, but at the exact same moment she opens the door, a piece of paper falls from above her and, instinctively, she swipes it out of the air and starts reading it, her face slowly showing more and more disbelief.

Written in an elegant curling script*, it reads.

_Meiling, by the time you are reading this, you must have starved yourself outside, waiting for me to call you and, after eating a leaf in your hunger, decided to run and get some food whether I come to get you or not. Unfortunately, the Mistress, Miss Patchouli, and I, are out on a trip towards somewhere we don't know. Oh, and I've already readied you some food. Go to the dinner table, eat up, and hurry back to your guard post when done. I also placed Flandre's food beside her bed, so don't worry about giving your own._

_Sakuya Izayoi _

_PS. Leave the dishes as they are, I will work on them as soon as I return._

With her eyes hidden in shadow, Meiling groans "I don't believe this..." and, her eyes moving to the food readied on the table, she adds "ah, but I might as well eat... I'm hung~ry!" and, as if to emphasise the fact, her stomach growls along...

* * *

><p>Once again, back to Remilia and Co. At the shadow mansion, Remilia stands inside a massive empty hall, and at the other side, Sintaku. Above them are four cube-shaped windowed rooms that allow perfect view below and in one of the four are Patchouli, Sakuya, Lia, and an exact copy of Lia who introduced herself as Lai and as the head maid of the shadow mansion. all four observing the two below.<p>

Sintaku actually made Remilia come to her mansion so that she could test out her own powers as well as to obtain a "base", which confuses Remilia.

Sintaku also turned out to be a bat youkai, which was revealed as soon as she stretched her black wings through small slits at the back of her shirt, turning out to be the unsightly bulge that was there before.

She closes her eyes and starts stroking the red underside of her wings while Remilia, from the other side of the field, shouts "hey, ready?"

"Ready I am!"

"How many cards?"

"Two!"

"Got it"

Both Sintaku and Remilia pull out two cards, Remilia's scarlet and Sintaku's black in colour.

Above them, Lia takes a small microphone and, after tapping on it twice, says "**A** **Battle between Mistress Sintaku and Miss Remilia Scarlet of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Two cards, nonlethal and all melee damage, weapon-based or otherwise will be treated as high-power laser hits ... START!**"

At the declaration a bright light glows directly above the battlefield as both Sintaku and Remilia disappear for a few moments and then reappear, both having lengthened their nails to three inches each, Remilia blocking Sintaku's left claw slash with her right claws and Sintaku blocking Remilia's own left claw slash in a similar manner.

They both grunt before disappearing once more and then reappear twenty metres apart, Remilia holding a miniature Gungnir and Sintaku holding a gigantic silver hammer with a green crystal on one head and a red one on the other.

Remilia throws the miniature Gungnir at the same moment Sintaku throws her hammer. Both weapons collide in mid-flight and, due to the Gungnir not being in spell card form, and thus, at full power, shatters, the hammer flying past Remilia to hit the wall behind her with a loud thud.

"Whoa, I didn't expect that!" exclaims Remilia as she jumps, avoiding the hammer as it returns to the hand of Sintaku. "Or maybe I did..." adds the vampire, her face showing a sharp mocking grin.

The two stare each other out before disappearing once again, turning into danmaku-trailing scarlet blurs that collide every now and then, creating bright flashes each time they do so.

This goes on for a few minutes before both blurs accidentally hit the now-innumerable danmaku that cover the field and fall to the ground, hitting every blocking danmaku on their way down.

The two lay dazed for a few seconds before Remilia finally stands up and, looking at her opponent, realizes that she has recovered as well and, holding a card sideways, says "should we?"

Remilia responds with a smirk. "Let's do it! **Scarlet Sign; Red the Nightless Castle!**"

"**Obsidian Sign; Night-time falls over the Red Castle of Vlad Tepes!**"

Above them, Sakuya and Lai say in unison "those names contradict...", Lai squatting and pinching her chin while Sakuya stares at the battle through a small binocular.

Sakuya takes her eyes off the binocular and turns to look at Lai at the same time Lai stares at Sakuya.

The two maids stare at each other in the eye before saying, in unison once again, "you said the same thing I did."

A few more seconds pass by before both raise their eyebrows and say "do we think alike?"

A few seconds fly once again before Sakuya says "let's just return to watching, shall we?"

Lai agrees. "I agree."

At this, Patchouli suddenly raises her gaze and mutters "I feel that something was redundant just a while back..."

The other three stare at her funny before returning to watch the battle down below.

Remilia has fired her giant burning pillar near Sintaku who also summoned a massive black sphere and now, the two attacks -which appear to be identical in fire power- hiss awfully as the energies of both Remilia and Sintaku collide, creating light blue sparks where the two attacks touch.

The two spells continue hissing for a few more seconds before they time out in unison, revealing, ten metres above the ground, one madly grinning Remilia and smirking Sintaku, both staring straight at each other's eyes.

"You're good..." says Remilia

"Not bad yourself" says Sintaku, laughing in excitement.

Both start laughing for a few seconds and then stop, staring at each other's eyes.

The two mistresses smirk and then disappear once again,

Both of them try to surround each other, trailing danmaku. However, this merely creates a strange whirling pattern in the air as both fly at their fastest, neither of the two actually gaining ground... err, air.

The two suddenly stop their dance and try to slash one another, only to return to the claw-lock they had at the beginning of the battle.

They push each other away at the same time and disappear once again.

Remilia now flies in a large circle formation around Sintaku, trailing danmaku that slowly rotate inwards while Sintaku teleports within the circle Remilia created, creating round formations of danmaku that spread outward every time she appears.

Remilia dodges the outward-flying shots easily, not even getting grazed at least once. She smirks as she thinks "and to think that this is the boss of the bats that gave me so much trouble earlier... this is just laughable!"

At the same moment, Sintaku thinks "_this is way too easy~! Time to spice things up a bit..._" and right after finishing that last thought, she starts teleporting at a faster rate, creating twice the amount of bullets at each teleport this time in two rings.

The first ring moves quickly outwards in a straight line while the inner ring moves much more slowly, spinning counter-clockwise.

Remilia notices the sudden increase in power and starts evading the bullets much more seriously while Sintaku shoves even more power into her attack, this time teleporting at least four times per second and including red spheres that chase Remilia all around.

By now, Remilia has given up on circling Sintaku and is instead firing concentrated shots of varied danmaku, mixing the sizes and speeds of her scarlet spheres.

Sintaku dodges these spheres with ease by simply teleporting to another area, but then realizes that Remilia is no longer firing in bursts, but in a steady stream.

_"crap" _she thinks as the bullets start crowding her. _"time for another power boost..."_

She tries to intensify her attack, yet cannot and gets hit at the chest at the same time Remilia makes a wrong turn and gets hit straight in the face.

The two fall straight to the ground, creating a clean cracking noise as they hit the ground, making the four observers on top wince a bit.

"Are they going to be okay?" asks Patchouli and Lia at the same time.

Their answer comes soon enough.

"ow~owowowowow~ouchies!" Remilia mumbles, scratching the back of her head with her right eye closed.

"ahh~! That hurt!" groans Sintaku several metres away as she stretches her arms and then rubs the side of her face.

***BON***

Ignoring the strange bump that came from above them, as well as the thin string of blood that flows from a small hole in the observatory wall, the two mistresses stare at each other.

"Let's end this" Remilia says, her tone serious.

"Right" responds Sintaku as the bat reveals her card.

Grinning, Remilia and Sintaku declare their cards at the same time. "**Midnight King: Dracula Cradle!**" "**Wind: Tai Fung!**"

Somewhere inside the Bamboo forest, surrounded by the unfinished foundation of her house-to-be, the sleeping Sayu suddenly wakes up "wha~ what was that?"

Kotori, right beside her, says "Miss Sayu, what's wrong?"

The human grins and replies "No, Nothing seems to be wrong. Are the warding charms we brought placed safely around us?"

Pointing to a series of paper charms on the wood and stone surrounding them, Kotori says "Yep, just as you said."

Falling back to the futon she was in, Sayu says "It's all good then" before falling back to sleep.

Back to the middle of the battle, Remilia is flying all over the place, trailing red aura that turns into danmaku that try to home in to Sintaku. Sintaku, on the other hand, is dodging Remilia's bullets with a little difficulty while maintaining the magical pressure needed to create numerous miniature tornadoes that fly in a grid pattern around the arena, trailing small danmaku that start moving randomly along with larger red danmaku that home in onto Remilia.

The small danmaku are easily absorbed by Remilia's aura. The red danmaku, on the other hand, have grazed Remilia several times already. However, the vampire twists ever so skilfully every time a bullet passes by.

Sintaku starts focusing as much energy as she could to her attack, doubling the amount of bullets that trail behind each tornado. The tornadoes double as well, making it even harder for Remilia to execute her spell -which requires constant movement- however; the vampire still finds small gaps between the scarlet danmaku that she flies through.

Remilia also intensifies her spell, doubling the amount of danmaku that trail behind her, as well as increasing their speed, making Sintaku work even harder just to get through the small gaps between the vampire's danmaku, grazing not just a few on her wings and dress.

From above, Sakuya- who now has a bandage on her nose-, Patchouli, Lia and Lai look on at the battle below but make no sense of it, seeing only a sea of white and scarlet moving about as dense as the bubbles in a bubble bath.

"I make no sense of this!" moans Sakuya as she tries to squint, only to see that the danmaku are now so dense that it is as if one is looking at a sea of milk. "How do they even weave through the gaps in THAT danmaku field?"

To her left, Patchouli shrugs and says "I don't know, but if they keep on churning out danmaku like this, they might end up with some amrita."

Standing behind them, Lai says "I think their chance of digging up amrita is zero." And beside her, Lai, crossing her arms, says "I agree, sis. More likely, WE would be the ones be digging up amrita for them"

A rumbling sound comes from below them and Sakuya says "I don't think so"

Remilia and Sintaku now lie on their backs, covered all over in danmaku burns and with their clothes burned nearly black, but still sturdy.

Both sigh at the same time and say "It's been a fun day", and right after that, they both close their eyes and fall asleep, being taken over completely by exhaustion.

What they don't both realize is that it is already night-time- seven in the evening, to be exact.

Outside, a lone bat perches on the shadow's mansion clock tower and, after staring at the half moon for a while, flies away.

* * *

><p>At a certain forested paradise not unlike Gensokyo, gentle humming fills the night.<p>

On the peak of a hill covered with a thick bamboo forest is a large shrine.

A long set of stairs leads to the top of the shrine, where the first thing the visitors would see is a tall arch not unlike the Japanese Torii, only with one beam on top. Under the arch is a path leading towards the shrine's main building that looks quite well-kept. The shrine itself appears to be of Southeast-Asian architecture. However, the roof looks Japanese.

The shrine has a back entrance leading to a massive garden surrounded by a bamboo wall that circles the entire shrine all the way from the Torii-like gate.

The garden itself appears to contain no plants other than fruit plants, with numerous cherry trees scattered all over and, at the centre, three large mango trees overgrown with a grape vine full of fruit. Surrounded by the three mango trees is a single apple tree twice as large as the mango trees, also overgrown with grapes.

On the side of the garden opposite of the main gate are two buildings, one containing the sleeping quarters of whoever lives in the shrine while beside it is the storage room, which, beyond doubt, seems quite full.

Sitting on one of the higher branches of the apple tree is Masegakotoban sa Hakajou, the goddess and creator of the realm that prefers the name the white-skinned foreigners called her, which is _Maria Anabi, _preferring the last name over the first.

She has eyes of burning gold and dark brown hair that is tied at the back into a ponytail with a large white ribbon and wears a pure white gown with a short blue cape with white trims on top, and at the waist, a black obi with a red cord running through it. On her feet, she has a black pair of tall Tengu Geta.

She stops humming, eats a grape and, staring at the sky, says "Aa~ Nai kagubotan sa paraisu nasa katabukan aru kotoban..."

Two pairs of two ribbons appear suddenly beside her, followed by a ripping sound as a rip in space-time opens in the space between the ribbon pairs followed by a woman's voice coming from the rip saying "My, and since when have you started to worry about Gensokyo, Anabi?"

Anabi turns to look at the gap and then, in a friendly tone, says "Oh, I know that you know that I've always looked after Gensokyo as I have looked after my realm, and you know that."

A woman emerges from the gap, looking almost half-asleep as she munches on a peach.

The woman has long blond hair tied into ponytails with ribbons, has matching eyes, and wears a puffy purple skirt that has a ribbon of cloth running vertically, tied at her waist with red ribbons. At the lower end of this cloth is a red and blue yin-yang design below a set of trigrams. Lower down, she wears muddied white shoes over a pair of purple socks and higher up, wears a mop cap that has a red ribbon running around it, bunching up and forming a sideways figure-eight at the front.

Yukari Yakumo, the young-old gap hag who always sleeps and neglects her duties.

Anabi pulls out a bottle of sake as she motions for Yukari to sit beside her, to which the sukima complies to, revealing her muddied shoes.

The goddess stares at it for a few moments before snickering "Now, you know, Yukari Yakumo, not to walk around, wearing white shoes in the middle of the rainy season in Hakaryo."

"And these were my best pair" moans Yukari before she reaches for a grape which she immediately pops into her mouth.

"But you learned that lesson a thousand and five years ago, my friend. Don't tell me you forgot..." says Anabi, pouring sake into two sake dishes.

And then, offering a sake dish to Yukari, she asks "Or did you...?"

Right after downing the sake in the dish, Yukari face-palms and then says "I did forget."

The goddess giggles sweetly after hearing this and, after filling Yukari's dish again with sake, she asks "so, what brings you back to this place after a thousand and five years?"

At this, Yukari stiffens and, with a low voice, says "I think I did something horrible..."

Back at Gensokyo, Rinnosuke opens the door to his shop, stretching in the air and exclaiming "Ah~ to wake up so late at night~ oof!"

A large motorcycle falls on top of the half-youkai, making him groan in pain as he lies in a daze, his eyes spinning.

Back at Hakaryo, Yukari finishes elaborating her action to her good old friend. "...and that is what I did." She says just before taking a swig from her dish.

The goddess giggles once again and says "my, my, as careless as ever, aren't you, Yukari?"

The sukima blushes slightly and then says "and after all these years, you still look as cute as ever"

Anabi smiles and then, tossing an apple over to Yukari, says "Oh, you may stay here, but remember that the maiden knows about this place and may come here looking for you."

Yukari covers her mouth with her fan and says "oh~ I don't think she'll come here any time soon."

The goddess simply smiles angelically at the Yukari, causing said gap youkai to blush like mad behind her fan.

Still staring at the goddess, Yukari stammers "A-anyway, chess?"

The sukima pulls out a brand-new glass chess set, and presents it to Anabi who immediately squeals with delight, followed soon after by her saying in a dangerous undertone "you're going down, Yukari."

The two of them fly all the way towards the main shrine and as they place the board on the floor, the sukima grins evilly, saying "Dream on~! I beat Ran everyday!"

By now, the chessboard is fully set, Anabi getting the white pieces.

Grinning slightly, Anabi says "oh, but I'm a goddess~! I am wa~y above your shikigami! Queen's pawn; two squares forward."

Yukari stares at her move and says "Nice job, now just let me block that pawn... a-ha! Queen's pawn, two squares forward."

Anabi looks on at the chessboard and sees the two immobilized rooks and thinks _"this is going to be a long night."_

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: TakerFoxx, for making his MUSGWREE (Mega Ultimate Super Great Wonderful Well-Written Enjoyable Epic) Fic. You could say that his story is a source of inspiration as well. For those who haven't read Imperfect Metamorphosis, please do so. It's the best, I assure you.**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

As before, a review posted in kind words would be welcome... and oh, please, do point out KINDLY what my mistakes are- I have no-one to pre-read / check my writing, and thus, I feel that there may be a few mistakes.

I stopped aiming at 10 Thou words-a-chapter for now, as I think I may have set it too high... I am a beginner after all... oh well, I settled for half that. Should be alright, right?

I finished the previous chapter today and both begun and finished this one today as well. I wanted to write the next chapter, but it is already midnight, so... *yawn* good night~ *walks straight into a gap* see ya! *falls asleep*

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><p><strong>FOOT-NOTES, ETC.<strong>

*I was thinking of italicised **Lucida Calligraphy **when I wrote that Letter of Sakuya's.

*She did not really teleport. She just moves so fast that it seems like she did short-distance teleportation.

*I forgot her EoSD Spells (and am too lazy to try and re-play it just to get a glimpse at her cards), so I made a "spell-card-battle-version" of her IaMP Spells (as I lost my Hisouten and Hisoutensoku copies with my old computer as well.)

Masegakotoban sa Hakajou literally means "Glowing forest of the Fantasy God."

"Haka" could stand for fake/false, as well as fantasy/something strange. In her name, it means fantasy. Thus, "Glowing forest of the Fantasy God", and don't worry- she's a true goddess. The alternate reading of her name as "Glowing forest of the Fake God" truly is laughable, but false.

_"Aa~ Nai kagubotan sa paraisu nasa katabukan aru kotoban" _as is her name, this is a slightly modified form of bisaya. She is saying "Ah, there's trouble (brewing) in the paradise across the border"


	8. 1 : Maiden's new Tenant

**_Maiden's new Tenant_**

**_1 : Maiden's new Tenant_**

**_You know that your design is perfect. not when there's nothing left to add, but when your pockets grow heavy with money. _**

* * *

><p>Early night-time in Gensokyo and, at a certain place to the easternmost border of the paradise is a tall hill forested with cherry blossoms.<p>

The western side of the hill has an insane flight of stairs stretching from the very bottom, where it connects to a road leading towards the human village, and a small plateau overgrown with _sakura_ at the very top of the hill, where it meets a path that goes under a worn-down Torii.

The road under the Torii leads to an equally worn-down shrine that, notwithstanding of its state, appears to have been cleaned and reinforced just recently while to the left of the shrine is a slightly large _onsen_ that has a well-paved area around it, the stones dark and smooth, but not slippery.

A second, more worn down path leads to the right of the shrine where, past a few _sakura_ trees, it splits into two, one leading towards a seemingly-empty storage house and the other towards what appears to be the living quarters of the shrine while yet another path branches off the one at the living quarters and leads towards the back of the shrine where there lies a well-sized crystal-clear lake.

From the grounds in front of the shrine comes the sound of sweeping and leaves being pushed around.

Reimu Hakurei, our ever beloved shrine maiden of paradise is holding a lamp with one hand and sweeping with another.

She has dark brown eyes tinged with maroon and wears a large red ribbon at the back of her head, where it is tied into her long black hair that reaches her lower back. On her hair, to both sides of her face, are two red tubes with white frills, apparently her own brand of hair-clip, and wears a red vest over a white shirt, a red skirt with white borders and, on her arms, white detached sleeves with scarlet coloured ribbons. Lower down, she wears a low wooden geta. despite ten years having passed by, she somehow looks much younger, at twenty-five, and seems to be as healthy, hiding her real age of thirty-three.

She stops sweeping, wipes her hand on her forehead, and, after a sigh, says "Finally, all clean." Sweeping the grounds has always been a bother to her, who would rather sit on the porch, drinking tea peacefully.

After walking back to her shrine, she grabs a small wooden rod with a roll of cloth at the tip dipped in oil, holds it over her lamp, and after the tip catches fire, promptly sets the shrine's lamps aglow. After lighting all of the lamps at the front and back, she puts out the fire on the rod and then starts walking towards the hot spring when suddenly, there comes knocking from the main shrine.

With a sigh, Reimu slowly walks to the front of the shrine, saying "Ugh~ this better be good." _'Ha... a visitor this late at night? Whoever this person is must have a donation to bother me this late!' _she thinks and, it is probably due to this thinking that she has few donations- it is actually only seven in the evening.

The knocking persists, making Reimu walk faster and say "Coming~!" _'Sheesh, all my visitors are either Youkai, Thieves, freeloaders, or the impatient ones... Really, why must I have this luck?' _she grumbles all the while and apparently, the person at the shrine really is impatient and continues knocking.

Reimu finally passes by the front of the shrine and sees a young lady knocking at her shrine's main doors, which happened to be closed.

The lady has shoulder-length pink hair with a jewel-like ornament to her left where it makes a side ponytail, slightly reminding Reimu of a certain goddess she met before and has matching pink eyes and wears a small pink cape over a white kimono with sky-blue flower designs snaking from the bottom to the top, a large black trident resting on a small cloth holder at her back and wears a silver coloured tengu geta.

She is about to knock once more when Reimu says "Hey, I'm here. What do you need? I already told you that I am coming." And as she does so, her face holds a stern, un-amused look at the strange new visitor.

The woman turns and, after a little bit of staring, which made Reimu uncomfortable, she says "I am Meibilin ni Hatinbulan. Pardon me, as I did not hear you and if you may allow me... what what's this place?"

Reimu crosses her arms and says "well, this is the Hakurei Shrine. You can ask me to help you whenever you have youkai troubles, now, why are you here without your knowledge?" and as she does so, she cringes as she realizes that she did not really say her words loudly a while ago, whispering instead.

The woman –Hatinbulan- shrugs and, after rubbing the back of her head, she says "I don't know... I was just walking along when I fell through the ground and woke up at the bottom of this hill I just climbed."

Closing her eyes, Reimu grumbles under her breath "Fossilised gap hag...", remembering how that person used to drop people in Gensokyo just for her own amusement and immediately grumbles. She knows it... she just knows... that old hag must have been the one to drop this person here. After all, people from Gensokyo at least know where they are and this one does not even seem to recognize her shrine!

After a short pause, Hatinbulan gingerly asks "so... I don't know where I am, it's night-time, and I have nowhere to rest in, so, may I stay here for a while?", seeing as there are no other signs of habitation that could be seen from this quite tall hill, meaning she must be deep in the middle of nowhere... in nowhere.

Confused, Reimu asks "Why don't you just tell me where you live? I mean... I can escort you." She asks, hoping at least that this girl is from some place in Gensokyo and was merely unable to go outside of her home's boundaries.

Meibilin looks around her, sighs, and then says "Nothing here looks familiar to me... I doubt I am even within a hundred miles of where I live."

Reimu snickers lightly before asking "where do you live then?" _'This is not good... maybe she really is from the outside world'_

"Hinabyayan."

There is an awkward silence as the two stare at each other, Meibilin's expression innocent while Reimu's shows disbelief, the shrine maiden realizing her fears have come true. This girl is not from Gensokyo... wherever this Hinabyayan place is, it is not in her realm as she never encountered a name like it before.

"Ah... wha" Meibilin mutters, but is barred from saying anything more as Reimu says "Right, right, seems like sukima victimized yet another person for me... you may stay here until I find her, blast her to smithereens, and then force her to send you home." Keeping note to actually beat the living daylights out of the gap hag she oh so well knows.

Meibilin's eyes turn glassy as she holds her hands clasped in front of her mouth, saying "I deeply thank thee, miss err..."

The strange archaic speech of the stranger confuses the maiden slightly, but manages to hold a straight face. After all, a certain girl she met twelve years ago also spoke in the old tongue. "Reimu Hakurei." Casually says the shrine maiden and, pointing to the side path leading to the living quarters, she adds. "Go on ahead. The living quarters are that way, and oh, don't expect to stay for free."

After a quick bow, Meibilin asks "what do you request I do, Miss Reimu Hakurei?", noticing the look on the maiden's face. Anger... irritation... both? She cannot tell.

Yawning widely, Reimu says "Take over my duties during daytime. That should be enough" just before she stretches her arms and walks towards the slightly overgrown path, weighing her misfortune at having to support yet another person at her shrine. Oh well, at least she could laze around when she wants and have others do her job.

Meibilin stays behind and, Reimu, noticing this, turns her head to look at her and says "hey, you coming or not? I'll show you around."

Saluting the shrine maiden, Meibilin says "Affirmative, Miss Reimu Hakurei!" just before she trails behind Reimu, smiling sweetly. It has been good to her so far, sans being dropped into the middle of nowhere and having to climb hell's stairs.

Sighing lightly, Reimu says "Just Reimu, please, just call me Reimu.", inwardly slapping herself at the unneeded formality being displayed, which makes her a bit uncomfortable. After all, this Meibilin keeps on talking like a private to a general while she, who is used to daily speech, talks to the newcomer like an equal.

Meibilin stops, salutes Reimu again and says "Affirmative, Reimu."

The shrine maiden slaps her face and mutters "oh~ this is going to be a pain." _'Oh please! Stop being so freaking formal- it's creepy!'_

The next day...

Reimu Hakurei is lying on her futon, sleeping soundly, when, suddenly, **"..mu! re..u! .RE..MU... REIMU!" **

Our favourite shrine maiden wakes up with a start, and then, seeing the gentle light filling the air, realizes that it is still six in the morning. Looking to her side, she sees her new tenant, Meibilin, kneeling beside her, smiling widely with happy eyes.

Getting off the ground groggily, Reimu moans "ugh~ what is it, Meibilin?" wondering at what could have made the trident-carrier smile so widely. She has to confide though... that smile is so darned cute!

Holding her sweet, Meibilin happily says "Breakfast is Rea~dy!"

"Oh" says Reimu as she suddenly beams at her new companion. "Thanks." '_Ooh~ that smile is so cu~te! She looks different in daytime, I guess?'_

Reimu and Meibilin walk towards the shrine hurriedly, and that was when Reimu notices how clear the grounds are and spots a large heap of leaves under one of the trees, and what the shrine maiden sees really shocks her. With her eyes bulging out, she asks "How... How did you do this? It takes me the entire day just to clear the yard!"

Meibilin's face turns in a sheepish smile as she says "well, see here, it's like..."

At the great bamboo forest, Sayu and Kotori look at the mess around them, the little youkai muttering "Just one night and so many leaves have dropped already..."

Without warning, Sayu takes out Agakara and then stabs the air in front of her as she suddenly says 'Ha!'. For a few seconds, it seems like nothing is going to happen, but then suddenly, a powerful wind blows all the bamboo leaves in one direction, and just as they reach the end of the clearing, two wind blades blow from the sides, blasting the leaves into the air, and, after the leaves stop falling, it is revealed that the leaves have bunched into a neat heap at the farthest edge of their clearing, the rest completely leafless.

Kotori's eyes turn into circles and her mouth turns into a box just before she asks "How did you do that!" while Sayu merely covers her mouth with her fan and then giggles whimsically as she sheathes her sword with her left hand.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu and Meibilin are eating the hot, fresh food readied by the newcomer, the shrine maiden beaming contentedly as Meibilin looks on expectantly.

"So...?" Meibilin asks, her eyes glassy. She has used the last of the shrine's meagre stored food in making the dishes, but has not told the shrine maiden yet.

Reimu's eyes suddenly hide under shadow, worrying Meibilin slightly before the shrine maiden suddenly looks up, smiling once again as she says "Perfect~! You're a good cook! These eggs could use some more salt though..."

"Oh..." mumbles Meibilin as she looks away.

Reimu panics, waves her arms around, saying "H-Hey! I said you cook well!", catching the attention of Meibilin wjp looks straight at Reimu with glassy eyes, asking "R-Really?"

Without warning, Reimu suddenly arcs backward and sprays blood from her nose, making Meibilin panic, and, kneeling beside Reimu, asks "Reimu-san! Are you alright?"

Lying on the floor in a daze, Reimu weakly moans "I'm O.K..." and, relieved, the newcomer breathes a brief sigh at this, saying "if you say so..."

Several minutes later, with the shrine in perfect order and without anything else to do, Meibilin and Reimu relax, sitting cross-legged on the shrine's porch, calmly drinking tea and watching the scot-free clean grounds.

Meibilin told Reimu that she needs to change clothes, but has nothing to change to. The shrine maiden, after some thought, told the newcomer that she could wear one of her many clothes and now wears one of Reimu's older ones- a pure white kimono which turns to scarlet below the waist where it is tied with a matching scarlet obi. However, for some reason, she still keeps her trident strapped to her back with white straps, the sharp tips pointing skyward.

Sighing softly, Reimu closes her eyes as she thinks "It's been such a perfect day~! No incidents... no trouble... no work... no Marisa... no visitors... no donations... no food... no money..."

Right beside her, Meibilin looks on with a worried look as the Hakurei maiden slowly stiffens and puts on a mortified face. "Nnn... Reimu?", troubled at what could shock the shrine maiden so much and wondering whether Reimu realized that she used up all of the food stores.

The shrine maiden looks down, her eyes hiding under shadow and starts shaking, making the newcomer worry even more.

Without warning, Reimu throws her head back and shouts in despair "**NO DONATIONS~!**"

This makes the trident-bearer beside her chuckle sheepishly as she says "Eh~ he he~ that reminds me, Reimu... I used the last of the food stock just today..."

Reimu buries her face in her lap, forgetting the hot tea she placed there and almost immediately jumps backwards, but doing so, she hits her head at the side of the door, which then knocks the senses out of her and now, she lies on the ground, her eyes spinning as drool trails from her mouth, a large circular red-coloured burn on her forehead.

As the shrine maiden moans about her problems, Meibilin sighs, places her cup and walks away from the shrine, and, right when she is under the Torii gate, she turns around and says "Reimu. I am going to follow this road and purchase some provisions from that settlement that thou didst tell me of."

Reimu's burn mysteriously disappears as she somehow recovers from her daze and, once again sitting on the porch, asks "Are you sure? Youkai might attack you on the way to the Human Village."

Meibilin grins, taps her trident and then says "Fret not, as I am skilled in the usage of mine three-headed spear. I'll be safe enough with this." The trident has saved her many times enough in the outside world anyways. She wonders, however, on what it could do to keep her safe from youkai.

"Oh, take care then." Says Reimu, who now holds a small rag in her left hand, wiping off the tea she spilled while waving at Meibilin with her right, her eyes focused on the spill, yet showing worry for her new companion's safety. After all, if someone staying at her shrine kills or is killed, it would be a great and dirty smear on her name. Heck, she would face a heavier fall than Remilia when her mist was withdrawn!

The newcomer temporary shrine maiden walks briskly down the long flight of stairs, but, just as she steps on the very bottom, she notices a sudden heaviness in the air, but Pays it no mind and keeps on walking, all the while noticing how the heaviness seems to follow her. "_I reckon... something's following me._" She thinks, narrowing her eyes slightly, her suspicion confirmed soon enough by light footsteps and the juggling of chains.

Swiftly, she grabs her trident and swings it at the person behind her, the tips of her weapon barely a centimetre away from the neck of her target.

She stares at her stalker for a few moments, examining her thoroughly. It appears to be a young girl -likely no more than ten years old- with light brown hair and matching eyes, two thorns with red and blue ribbons tied to it, wears a purple full-body dress that has ripped cloth where her sleeves should be, and on her hand, two steel braces with attached broken chains. At her back is a large purple gourd.

However, the thing that catches Meibilin's attention the most is that, despite her trident being at her neck, the young girl does not seem to be daunted in the least.

The young girl breaks the silence, merrily saying "Hello there human! Seems like you're living at the shrine now, aren't ya? "

The temporary shrine maiden lowers her trident and asks "Yes, I am, but before thou dost ask mine name, may I ask Who art thou? Why art thou not fearful of mine spear?"

The horned girl takes a quick swig from her gourd before saying "Ah~ yes, I am Ibuki Suika, Oni. One of the four devas of the mountain. Anything else ya wanna ask, Meibilin?"

Meibilin steps back slightly, her face showing shock. Pointing her spear at the little oni once again, she asks "What! To thee, I have not told mine name yet! How is it that thou knowest of it?"

Suika pushes down the spear, saying, in a more serious tone "Sheesh~ don't be so psyched up, lassie. I've seen ya around the shrine a while ago. Ya bein' there would do ol' Reimu good. She does not admit it, but the passage of ten years and her stressful, laid back lifestyle has weakened her somewhat."

"But I never saw you there..." mumbles Meibilin, to which the oni replies "Oh, I was in mist form, and that reminds me... Ciao~!"

"Wha!" exclaims Meibilin, but before she could speak some more, the little oni explodes in a cloud of mist that flies back towards the shrine.

"That explains the early-morning mist..." Sighs Meibilin as she continues walking along the road, noticing how the trees to both sides of the path block the sun and significantly cool down air, to which she comments inwardly "_so cool and refreshing... I truly am thankful that there are these trees here..._" as she stretches her arms, her trident once again tied to her back.

Ten minutes later, following the road closely, she finally arrives at the Human Village. Her walk has been quite safe and there seems to be no attempts to attack her, most of the wandering youkai fleeing at the mere sight of her... or maybe it's her trident? More likely though, the youkai were afraid of her clothes- clothes that have been associated with Gensokyo's most powerful being ever. They have the right to be scared, don't they?

Meibilin finds her way, asking the people of the village the location of this and that, finding the market area after five more minutes of rapid asking. Once, she asked a kindly old woman who keeps on staring at her face, unnerving her a bit. It did not help that the shopkeepers of many of the food-stores she went also stare at her in the same manner. Finally, after an entire afternoon of shopping, she finally has enough to fill the shrine's storage with food to last Reimu and her an entire month. She readies to leave, but sees a small shop selling seeds, buys some strawberry and melon seed packets, some fertiliser, and some chilli juice-lemongrass insecticide, all the while noticing how even this shopkeeper keeps on staring at her face like all others before her._ She's had enough._

Blushing slightly as she had been for the past thirty minutes because of all the attention, Meibilin asks "Is there something on my face, if I may ask?" to which the seed-seller says "Nothing... it's just your companion yesterday is no longer beside you. You seem to have changed your hairstyle so suddenly. How did you do that?"

This really confuses the newcomer. After all, the first place she went to was the Hakurei Shrine and the only one she knows around here is Reimu. She did not come here yesterday, and who's this companion the shopkeeper says? "Pardon me, but I did not even come here yesterday. Maybe thou thinkest of another person?"

The man, who now has his seed packets stowed, snickers slightly. "Maybe your doppelganger came here then?"

"A...hah? This place is stranger than I thought..." mumbles Meibilin as she starts walking back to the shrine, carrying her cart and leaving her payment on the shopkeeper's hands.

It takes half an hour for Meibilin to exit the village and twenty more minutes to arrive at the shrine; dragging a small cart she bought just to contain her purchases. However, seeing the stairway to heaven, she grimaces at the thought of pulling her small, but heavy cart all the way to the top.

"Hey, need some help there lassie?" comes a playful and childish voice from beside the newcomer, making her turn to the side and stare eye-to-eye with the floating Suika. "oh, it's thee... Suika was it?" she says just as the oni pulls her gourd and takes a few GIGANTIC gulps.

After lowering her gourd down, Suika stares with half-closed eyes at the temporary shrine maiden, saying "Well, I guess ya need some help, ya?", making Meibilin look at her load, at Suika, back to her load again, and then back to Suika, and after a few seconds of thinking, sighs and says "Ahh... I would be grateful for thine help, Miss Suika."

The oni lets out a wee giggle before she falls out of the air, lifts the cart with her left hand, steadies it with her right, and then runs like mad towards the top of the shrine, leaving Meibilin, who let go of the cart the instant Suika lifted it, staring with shock at the little oni's strength.

_*Haa~ Haa~ Haa~* _Meibilin is literally drained by the time she nears the top. Seeing the end of the stairs, she jumps, lands right under the Torii, and, raising her hands to the air, happily declares "I did it~!" just before collapsing out of pure exhaustion.

Almost immediately, the resident shrine maiden spots her new companion collapse and immediately runs to her. Lifting Meibilin off the ground gingerly, she says "I saw Suika come by with a cartful of food. I take it she took the load when you arrived at the bottom of the stairs?" to which the trident-carrier responds "y-yea... Give her my thanks."

"By the way..." says Reimu as she places Meibilin on the shrine's porch, the temporary shrine maiden immediately taking a sitting position. "That was a lot of food you brought with you... where did you get the money?" she continues as she places tea she apparently brewed just before Meibilin's return.

Taking her cup, Meibilin says "I used my own money... I swear I used at least half of it to buy those..."

A gentle breeze caresses the shrine as Meibilin stares hard at the donation box. A few more seconds pass by, then, without warning, the temporary shrine maiden -having placed her tea back on the porch- jumps up, walks to the front of the donation box, kneels, and then drops an entire parcel of golden coins, filling the area with the jingling of coins.

This confuses Reimu for as far as she knows, it is quite strange for a shrine maiden to be offering money to her own shrine, but looks on as Meibilin kneels and then starts to pray silently.

**_Oh Deity of the Hakurei Shrine. I dost hope that thou wilt accept me as thy own shrine maiden and I hope that thou wilt guide me to be ever good in my duties and faithful to thee._**

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><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Snapshot2011 for creating Onkamikami Rika, who is one of the three characters that were Meibilin's inspirations.**

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><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

ZUROU Here. So, how was it? Please do Review. Reviews are welcome, as long as it does not really focus too much on the negative without giving solutions or as long as it is kindly said (typed). I have no proof-readers, so if you could tell me where I went wrong, I would be truly grateful. And oh, Sir Willie, many thanks and may Hina Kagiyama... err... nevermind that.. and may. thou be blessed with everlasting luck in thine work.

So, how is Meibilin? If you have read Willie-sah's Sukima Series, she'll be a bit like Snapshot's Rika Onkamikami, but at the same time, very different. A clue to her role is this: Hāsu to Sāmin, Pute na Raen Shin, Mahiton Sāmin

Oh, and that is a slightly personalized, but very much legible Bisaya, not Japanese. I suggest you don't dwell on that however, as it may be a big spoiler... but it is unlikely enough that one of you knows bisaya and less likely that you know the eastern variant.

Kon'inara, Ma'aran na dayun hantou sa sunou suja!

* * *

><p>Hinabyayan is my spelling and pronunciation of Hinablayan which means "(a) place where people are hanged." This is the older name of PalomponPalonpon, my hometown, which I call Palonpon, Pa(w/r/y)onpon or Hinabyayan. I use Paronpon/Pawonpon/Payonpon when speaking because it is much more well known and Hinabyayan in writing because it is much more beautiful-sounding.

Magellan died of herpes after having too much time with a high-voltage lady, by the way.


	9. 2 : Clutter Marisa

**_Maiden's new Tenant_**

**_2 : Clutter_********_Marisa_**

**_Let us celebrate… just for the heck of it. –Nowknu Monde_**

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><p>Afternoon in Gensokyo and all is at peace… but then, that is getting repetitive. Not to mention that it always seem to break when I say that, don't I? So, let me rephrase that.<p>

Afternoon in Gensokyo and everyone is safe and sound, as it has always been, with all the residents busy going about their daily lives. Hungry ghosts chasing after terrified sparrows, humans busy farming and the overheated youkai taking a bath by the Youkai Mountain's river, for example. Yup, all is safe and sound and everyone not sunburnt are apparently revelling in the heat, though that could not be said for those by the Misty Lake, those at the Bamboo Forest and those at the overgrown Forest of Magic.

Speaking of Forest of Magic, deep within the forest, after walking through a sunken paved path, climbing a harrowing 30-foot vertical climb through a mass of WET and SLIPPERY plant material, rocks and magical mushrooms, is a nice flat clearing just large enough to contain a small mushroom garden and a grey-brown mass in the shape of a house covered all over in dense foliage.

There is a sudden, loud banging and then the thing's door -which was grown over with vine roots- suddenly bursts open, revealing a quite messy dining room on the other side… scrap what I just said. It IS a house.

A girl comes out of the door, stretches her arms, exclaiming "Aah~ what a good afternoon, ze!"

The girl has golden-red eyes and matching pure-gold hair that reaches her upper back, and wears a black vest and a black skirt, above and under a white long-sleeved blouse and apron, respectively, and wears a black wide-brimmed witch hat with a red-white ribbon running around the cone (witches' hats have cones, right?), lower down, she wears black shoes over pink socks. At her left hand is a broom with a well-polished sandalwood handle and a soft, bushy head.

Kirisame Marisa, the former Ordinary Magician: during the course of ten years, she has accidentally activated the spell that turns human magicians into youkai witches, and thus has become Gensokyo's Kleptomaniac Firepower Witch.

She yawns once again and then opens her eyes after breathing a relaxed sigh, but immediately, after seeing the sight in front of her, her eyes immediately turn into circles as her jaw drops to the ground.

Varied outside-world objects lie scattered throughout her front yard of sorts (not that you could keep a clean front yard for long without hard work in this rapid-growth forest); creating a mess would make the worst hoarders proud. In fact, the inside of her house, though cluttered, at least has some arrangement. This one is not just clutter, but it appears as if someone dropped an entire garbage dump into her front yard (sans the smell.)

An ominous wind blows across the field, brushing a leaf against Marisa's left foot. The following scream creates a massive mushroom cloud that strips the nearby trees bare. "WHAT HAPPENE~D?"

The youkai magician starts stomping the ground like mad, screaming hysterically, "WHO IN THE F****NG WORLD DID THIS B***H OF A JOB TO MY BELOVED MUSHROOM PATCH! Oh, I swear! When I catch her, I'll be sure to strip her bones BARE and give those idiots a BATH in her BLO-***BON***"

A washtub full of raw eggs falls from the roof, falling on the witch, knocking her out and ending her cussing… or not. Instead, it made the witch angrier as she instantly recovers and resumes cussing. "Oooh~ EGGS, EH? That's IT! I'm sending the culprit to he- ***BOOM***"

From out of nowhere, a small red doll flies towards the raging witch and explodes, sending her flying towards a pile of junk that then collapses over her, knocking her out a second time, and right after the smoke clears, a young female voice says "Hey, Calm down you noisy idiot. I was like that when I found the same mess on my house. I thought that you were responsible… I guess I was wrong."

The person speaking has chin-length golden, slightly wavy hair, sapphire blue eyes, and wears a red headband, shiny blue vest with brown corset over a white blouse and a shiny blue skirt that nearly hides her black cross-laced boots. Dolls float around her, some holding bows, some lances and swords, some bearing shields, and yet others carrying apparently nothing.

She is Alice Margatroid, the Seven-Coloured Puppeteer and The First of the Forest's Human Inhabitants to turn into Youkai.

_*Several Minutes ago*_

_Alice stares at the scene of pandemonium that was once her yard. The blond puppeteer starts shivering and, veins covering her entire face, angrily screams "F**K YOU MA~RI~SAAAA~!"_

_*Back to the present*_

From the pile of rubble, Marisa says "I'm amazed. I never thought that you'd cuss, Alice. Now, help me out of here, ze!", her situation something worth laughing to at least.

Alice sighs and pulls Marisa out, the black-and-white now Coated all over in burn-cooked egg white and black all over. After checking out her Black-and-White neighbour, Alice can't help at giggle at the pathetic sight that was once one the most powerful (in terms of raw firepower) beings in Gensokyo.

Marisa's face turns red as she realizes that, aside from basically cooking the egg whites solid unto her skin, the doll explosion also managed to make her look like a mad beggar who could not even pry a yen from a dead man's hand, as well as burning off some parts of her dress.

"H-Hey! Stop Laughing! That's not funny, you know!" protests the exasperated Marisa. However, this only manages to crack the puppeteer even more as evident by how her snickering is turning into a crazed cackle.

Realizing her words are not at all taking effect, Our favourite Black-and-White runs to grab the still-wet washtub in order to slam it onto Alice's head, only to trip on a basketball as she runs back to the seven-coloured puppeteer, sending the washtub flying high before landing at Alice's head, making a perfect hit and knocking **her** out.

Marisa gasps and then runs to Alice and, worried, shakes her wildly as she says "A-Alice! Are you alright?" to which the seven-coloured puppeteer groans and, relieved, Marisa pushes the washtub away and then backs away at Alice's sadistic smile and then realizes that her dolls have her surrounded… almost.

Right after saying "'Scuse me", Marisa jumps over Alice, stepping on the puppeteer's face accidentally before summoning her broom and flying off, only to be chased by dolls of Malice and one angry Alice.

The witch runs for dear life as the murderous dolls try to stab, shoot and explode in front of her. One highly predictable chase scene later, the Black-and-White and the Puppeteer sit cross-legged on a mat Alice has brought with her on a small clearing free (mostly) from the outside-world junk littering the yard, drinking tea. Marisa is completely in tatters and appears to be even more burnt than before and is holding Mushroom Bread in one hand and Mushroom Tea on the other. Alice, on the other hand, still looks fresh (save for the small bump on her head) and is holding a colourful fan-shaped biscuit with her left hand and a cup of Oolong Tea on the other.

"…it also happened to Rinnosuke" Says Alice in between bites. "I stumbled upon his house and found him lying under a red-coloured metal outside-world contraption with two rubber rings."

Both of them have been talking about what could have happened for the forest to be in its current messy state.

"Shoundsh wike an in-sea-dent" mumbles Marisa, not bothering to swallow her bread, or at least wash it down with tea. "And when der ish an incident… we go to…"

"…Reimu." both magicians say at the same time, Alice gracefully biting into her cookie shortly after while Marisa stuffs an entire loaf into her mouth.

"So, should we go?" asks Alice after a sip of tea, to which the Black-and-White replies "Aye Doon Noon" mumbles Marisa again, her mouth still full of the bread. "Maybe wee shooz go. Dash di bisht pirshun to run to in *gulp* incidents is Reimu…"

The seven-coloured puppeteer scratches her chin, muttering "well, it's not too bad a thing… I'll just have to leave a donation and then…"

Without warning, Marisa summons her broom, jumps on top, and then flies away, shouting "The last one to the *bite* Hakulei Shline musht poot money in zi Thonashon Voksh~"

Seeing the rapidly fading Speedster, Alice groans, packs her mat, and then says "I just hate it when I have to talk to her longer than four minutes…"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is still on the porch, drinking tea while Meibilin is still in front of the donation box, donating. The shrine maiden of paradise's face blooms with red as she stares at the Intently-praying Meibilin and then thinks _'She looks so cute… even whe- especially when serious… uuu~'_

From the skies south of the shrine comes a very, VERY familiar voice yelling "Hey! Reimu!" and, as soon as the one-yen maiden hears, she groans and then says _'such a mood-breaker that one…' _before returning to staring at Meibilin, who has now finished praying and then, after standing up, bows lightly to the shrine, looking all serious before turning to Reimu and smiling sweetly, pulling the last string by having Reimu see her sincere face.

Our lovable shrine maiden starts trembling and then, after a few seconds, arcs her back as a massive red lase- err, stream of blood shoots out of her nose, nearly hitting the approaching witch, who comments "That was Master Spark! That Reimu… what is she up to? Stealing my moves?"

Back at the shrine, Meibilin is gently prodding the Desiccated body of Reimu's who keeps on moaning 'No regrets~' over and over. "Miss Reimu, please wake up! I'll cook food for thee… just wake up, pleaa~se?" asks a teary-eyed Meibilin as she clasps her hands in front of her worried face. Unfortunately, our favourite shrine maiden is all out of lov- err, blood and can no longer do an epic nosebleed. However, the idea of Meibilin's food brings her back to life as she says "food~? Where?"

Meibilin puts a red apple on Reimu's hands as she says "I'll go cook, Miss Reimu. That apple should nourish thee in the meantime."

Reimu nods hastily and then walks outside, licks her finger, points it at the sky, and then, after a bit of concentrating, throws the apple in the air and the opens her mouth to intercept the falling red fruit, but is interrupted as a blur passes by, bringing the apple with it.

The blur slows down, revealing Marisa munching on the apple contentedly. "Hiya there Reimu, How are you? Good apples you have 'ere, ze."

The shrine maiden smiles sweetly at the magician, maybe *too* sweetly, making the Black-and-White back off in caution, saying "Wo-woah! Calm down Reimu! What is with you?"

Her smile turning into a sadistic grin, Reimu says in an ominous tone "Donate… or di-"

From inside the shrine, Meibilin's says "Miss Reimu! Thy food is ready!" and apparently, that saved her as the shrine maiden's grin turns into a sweet smile as she rushes inside the shrine eagerly. _Too eagerly_, Marisa thought. _'I never saw her act that happy at being called by someone… oh wait; I never heard that voice before!'_ and, peeking into the shrine, she spots Meibilin wearing the attached-sleeve version of Reimu's Costume. _'A new girl in the shrine? Is Reimu choosing her successor? Strange, I never saw her at the Human Village befo-'_

"Come in, Marisa", suddenly calls Reimu, breaking her from her thoughts. "Try on Meibilin's food", the maiden says in between spoonfuls, making Marisa wonder how she realized that she was there… but then remembers that this is Reimu, whose intuition never fails.

"A-er… Coming, Reimu." Chuckles Marisa as she jumps out of hiding, scratching the back of her head and is about to say something, but is immediately silenced by the smell of the dishes on the shrine's small table and, by the looks of it, there happens to be a lot… and Reimu's gulping it down like Yuyuko!

However, just as the scent of food (and the rumbling of her still half-empty stomach) drives her forward, Meibilin suddenly jumps in front of Marisa, points the gohei at the witch, and then says "Kindly donate first and remove any footwear when you want to enter the shrine.", immediately tempting the witch to make a donation and, just as Marisa digs into her pocket, Meibilin turns to Reimu and then, tilting her head to the side asks "…did I get the script right, miss Reimu?"

The shrine maiden turns her head away from the cute temporary shrine maiden to hide her sudden blush and the thin line of blood dripping from her nose and, presenting a thumbs-up to Meibilin, says "Y-you got it perfect, Meibilin."

Meibilin immediately jumps in front of Reimu, lands without a noise, clasps her hands, places her clasped hands over her bosom, and then, smiling sweetly, says "Thanks~ Miss Reimu!"

.Reimu twitches again and then cups her hands in front of her nose just as another Blood Sign: Nosebleed Spark attack bursts out of her nose, stopping the attack's activation quite effectively. Meibilin, however, seeing all the blood, panics and then, after Reimu falls to the floor, starts shaking her vigorously as she says, with a worried tone "Reimu-san! Reimu-san! Art thou all right?", to which the sheepishly-smiling shrine maiden dizzily moans "I~m AlL RiGhT~"

Meanwhile, outside the shrine, ignoring the strange noises coming from inside the shrine, Marisa mumbles "now… where did I keep that… oh yeah!", and pulls out a small pack with the label "50 yen". However, just as she starts to Pour the coins inside the donation box, something crashes to the ground behind her, followed by some coughing inside a small impact-generated dust cloud.

"*pant* *pant* M-Marisa! Can't you wait for me? Understand that some are not as fast as you" says the person who lande- crashed to the ground.

Marisa turns around, grinning broadly and then says "Alice! Took you long enough!" and true enough, as the dust cloud settles, it reveals a panting, obviously spent Alice glaring at the black-and-white, the puppeteer immediately noticing the empty money bag on the thief's hands and, grinning, she says "So, it seems like I won't have to donate, eh?"

_*Flashback, three days ago*_

"_GET OUT OF HERE YOU MONGRELS!" screams an angry Hakurei as she tosses the two magicians outside the shrine. "If you want to fight, then FIGHT SOMEWHERE ELSE! Also, one of you two has to DONATE to compensate for that pillar you BROKE!" _

_Terrified, the two magicians prostrate, say "As you wish, Oh queen!" and then start to fly home as fast as they could. However, just as Marisa kicks her broom off the ground, she adds "you Oni miko.", earning her an angry glare from the Oni Miko._

"_What. Did. You. Say?" angrily screams Reimu to the skies. However, right on time, Suika materializes in front of Reimu, wearing the Hakurei Shrine maiden outfit and, after taking a quick gulp from her gourd, she says to Reimu "She means me."_

_Reimu, seeing one of her childhood (smaller) outfits on the miko, grins sweetly… maybe too sweetly…_

"_uhh… Reimu?"_

**_Pi-Chu~n!_**

_*back to the present*_

"Yep, those were Nightmarish times…" says Marisa, who has her arms crossed while holding a cup of tea with her left hand, which, for some reason tastes too… bitter. "I got to agree" replies a drunk, childish voice from between the two magicians. Alice nods and then says "Yes, that's true Sui… SUIKA!"

"Well, that explains the odd taste" shrugs Marisa as she stares sadly at her tea, but her staring is cut short by Suika, who says "Hey, I came here to tell you that Reimu's been waiting for you to come inside. Do you want to eat that girl's cooking or not?"

Alice raises an eyebrow, but Marisa merely walks into the shrine. However, just as she turns to thank Suika, the Oni starts dancing, screams "BLACK AND YELLOW WITCH! BLUE AND GREEN WITCH!" and then collapses, moaning drunkenly.

Marisa blinks twice, mutters "I don't get it", and then continues inside the shrine. However, just as Alice follows the witch, Meibilin somersaults out of the shrine, lands in front of Alice, opens a scroll and then, in a professional voice, reads "Th- You are not pardoned to come inside, miss puppeteer and miss witch, unless tho- err, you donate to my donation box. It is suggested that you com… conm… corn… err, Miss Reimu, what is this written here?"

"That's Comply" shouts Reimu from inside the shrine, earning a snicker from Alice.

"…Comply. Therefore, you must pay. So, pay for that post you destroyed in thi- err, your last visit. Written by Hakurei Reimu on the date OO-OO-OO, Alice Margatroid oriented…"

"H-hey! Hold it" calls Reimu from inside the shrine. "You don't need to say that part!"

Somewhere in the bushes, a pair of red eyes stares viciously at the collapsed oni and then silently says "Operation Prank: Drunken Oni is a success."

Back to Alice, the seven-coloured puppeteer looks at Meibilin with an annoyed look on her face. "What makes you think I'll donate just to follow Marisa? She's not my boss.", and, upon hearing, the temporary shrine maiden gets on her knees, looks up at Alice with pleading eyes, and then asks "Ple~ase?", making the puppeteer shiver and turn cherry-red but somehow managing to avoid causing to actually lose control of herself, she responds "I'm sorry, but I really don't think I would… I'm broke at the moment.", and as if to emphasise the fact, she shows Meibilin the slightly worn hem of her dress.

Meibilin returns to a standing position, looking deeply into the scroll again, and, after a few seconds, mutters "Ah… here it is: In case the previous two attempts fail, attaque à la démon~!"

Alice's face turns pale as she backs off, saying in disbelief "What… she… Reimu… Wha-" _'Reimu wouldn't get anybody in danger just for donations!'_, then, looking up, sees Meibilin charge with her trident and barely manages to block with one of her dolls –which was sliced into two- a powerful horizontal slash as the newcomer yells "For Reimu, the Shrine and Donations!"

Inside the shrine, Marisa and Reimu sit side-by-side, watching the battle as they casually eat their food. "So," the witch says, "I have something to tell you, Reimu.", making Reimu turn to face her friend. "At the Forest of Magic…"

Back to Meibilin and Alice, the newcomer bats away one of Alice's lance dolls with her trident, sending the doll flying towards a second doll, which apparently is an explosive doll as it burst on contact, knocking out three nearby dolls. However, at the same time, two sword dolls charge from behind, narrowly missing Meibilin as the newcomer jumps to the side. As she does so, she drops a small bag of clear, yellow liquid, but no-one seems to notice this.

Alice sends out ten lance-bearing dolls around the area as Meibilin tries to approach the puppeteer from the side, making her move back cautiously, only to step on the packet placed earlier and slip as the yellow liquid –oil, it turned out to be- bursts out of the bag, causing the puppeteer to lose control of her dolls and immediately, Meibilin lunges forward and, pointing her trident at Alice's neck, says "So… donations?"

Alice sighs and then says "Tch, that was a dirty trick, you. Fine… I'll donate, but stop pointing that thing at me." _'That's dangerous.'_

Meibilin gasps, sheathes her trident and, offering a hand to Alice and apologetically says "My mistake. How art thou? Tell me if I have brought harm upon thy body.", Seriously, one cannot enter a fight blindly and expect that no-one is going to get hurt. However, in this case, since no real hits were landed, there were no injuries aside from Alice's bottoms hurting a bit from the sudden slip.

Alice accepts Meibilin's hand and as she straightens out, she rubs her behind a bit as she mumbles "ouch… my butt~", and then, turning to Meibilin, she says "So… I guess I should donate now, huh?" to which the new shrine maiden nods. Alice's answer is her walking to the donation box -still petting her behind- and then dropping roughly 50 yen inside, bowing, and then walking into the shrine, all the while thinking _'Why does she use old-fashioned speech, I wonder? I swear I heard her use it.'_

Anyway, once inside, Alice gets caught inside an impossibly fast dialogue between the Maiden and Witch. "…doesn't this sou…" "…yes, Marisa. I know tha…" "…can't be serious! Thi…" "…The tip of the iceberg? There is…." "…Forest of Magic getting dirty is bad enou..." "…my problem. It's yours, if you know…"

"**Can somebody kindly tell me what's going on in here!" **cuts in Alice, smiling sweetly with veins running all around her face, making the two in front stop and look at her. However, they both shrug, stare at each other in the eyes and, yawning, Reimu says "Nah, not my problem anyways… It does not sound major and cleaning up the Forest of Magic is not my concern."

"REIMU!" the two magicians yell in synch. "Oh lovely my ass, ze! How could you…" _-Marisa_ "…Shrug it off like that?" _-Alice_ "It's not about the mess…" _-Marisa_ "…what if something happens, huh?" _-Alice_

The red-and-white stares at the two, dumbstruck for a while before shrugging, and then, after tossing a fried morsel from the plate, says "I really don't care about it as of now as it doesn't seem to be a bother and seems harmless. I'll take action when something happens though."

"Not a bother… harmless… easy for you to say: you don't have to clean up an entire forest…" mumbles Alice quite unhappily as she falls over, anime style. Marisa, on the other hand, merely huffs and, placing her hands on her waist, she says "Ah well, these things seem interesting and maybe I can sell some of these to Kourin. I bet I'll earn quite a lot from that loot."

The witch then slaps Alice's back as she says "Hey~ Why don't we go home and fix the mess over there?"

The puppeteer does not move, merely grumbles "All the way here for nothing…." and without second thought, the black-and-white picks up the puppeteer, who immediately protests, tosses her on her broom, and then flies away.

Reimu and Meibilin cover their ears as Alice screams in surprise and then immediately grabs the shaft of Marisa's broom before she falls off, forgetting she can fly as twin waterfalls trail from her eyes, Still screaming… now with terror.

The shrine maiden stares at the rapidly-disappearing dot and then, walking back inside the shrine, sighs, "At least they donated…"

As for Meibilin, she shrugs and then starts cleaning the grounds, noting how hungry Reimu seemed to be for donations… so hungry that she even sent her to extort. Good thing she bought one of those slippery liquids they call _Trickster's Oil_…

The next few days went perfectly for Meibilin.

She wakes up early and cleans the grounds, always finishing before Reimu wakes. As soon as the red-and white wakes, she handles the cooking while Reimu readies the tea. After that, as Reimu takes her seat at the porch, drinking tea, she goes to the back of the shrine, training vigorously until sundown with her trident using wooden dummies that she always repairs after each session.

Occasionally, Marisa comes by, usually just to hang out and either drinks tea with Reimu, in which case Meibilin readies the tea, or hangs around at the back and watches the new shrine maiden train.

Every few days, Meibilin goes to the Human Village either to buy supplies such as food or new wooden dummies or to do favours in the name of Reimu and the Hakurei Shrine. With each visit, the humans start treating her treating her more normally with the staring being less frequent and intense. Somehow, she rarely gets attacked on her way to the village and back, being attacked only occasionally, in which case she easily beats her opponent using trickery and non-fatal side-swings of her trident.

As she does so, she sometimes meets new faces. Among them are…

Reisen Udongein Inaba: a lunar rabbit that runs a medicine stand, selling various medicines ranging from fever cures and aphrodisiacs to seduction potions and even medicine that promises to cure cancer. Deciding it a good idea, she bought several potions from the rabbit, as well as some energy pills that she hopes will boost her training. The rabbit's claim was that it is_ 'the best the moon has to offer and more.'; _she has red eyes and light pink hair and wears a white shirt, a pinkish business suit complete with tie and a short skirt. Being a rabbit, she naturally has rabbit ears. Hers stand straight and has two buttons at the bottom. Lower down, she wears blue suede shoes.

Sakuya Izayoi: the Elegant Maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion who happened to be shopping for the SDM reserves when Meibilin was strolling around the Village Square. Noticing how the silver-haired girl seems to be overexerted, she volunteered to take half of the load and learning the location of the SDM in the process. She has silver hair, blue eyes and a blue maid outfit with a short skirt.

On her way back, she met a blue-haired Ice fairy with six icicle wings wearing a blue dress named Cirno who tried to attack her. However, she easily subdues the fairy and heals her with a vial she bought from Reisen before resuming her walk back to the village.

It did not take a minute after the battle with Cirno when a girl with cerulean eyes and long green hair tied with a golden ribbon into a ponytail blocks the newcomer and thanks her for sparing Cirno. She introduces herself as Daiyousei. She wears a long blue dress with grey borders and sleeves. Her wings are crystalline with golden trims, but unlike Cirno's, look more like traditional fairy wings.

She also meets Keine Kamishirasawa, the village's self-appointed protector, historian and the owner and sole teacher of the village's only school. A were-hakutaku, she has the power to create and destroy history when the moon is full. On other days (or nights) however, she can merely hide history. Loved by humans, she was wary of Meibilin and her trident at first, but soon eased up and befriended the newcomer. She has red eyes and long white hair that reaches her lower back, wears a sleeveless blue dress that hides her shoes over a white blouse with puffy short sleeves. A strange feature of her is a house-like hat on her head coloured blue with red markings and ribbons on it.

And then there's Mokou, who she met when she came to visit the hakutaku one fine afternoon. A ravishing white-haired beauty beyond human ideals, she happened to be quite a good chat most of the time but otherwise moping about not dying. Her white hair reaches her lower back and tied at places with charms, has red eyes and wears a loosely buttoned long-sleeved shirt and red pants covered with charms similar to those in her hair. She also wears red-painted geta.

At night, Meibilin relaxes at the hot springs as Reimu cooks. After dinner, as Reimu does her night-time round, Meibilin readies the living quarters for sleeping. In the time between Reimu's ending her round and her finishing setting the futons, Meibilin walks around, savouring the night.

The days go peacefully by like this for three weeks before Marisa swoops in and then boasts that she has already cleared her yard of the clutter. For some reason over such an accomplishment unrelated to the shrine, Suika pops out of nowhere and declares a feast to be held the next day. Marisa cheerfully agrees and, ignoring the protests of one red red-and-white, suggests that it be held in the shrine.

Defeated two-on-one, Reimu grumbles "Fine! But make it clean, at least!"

Overhearing the small oni's declaration, Meibilin stops her usual afternoon training and then sighs. "A feast, huh? Looks like I'm in for some work…"

Pointing her trident downwards, she looks up at the sky and mentally readies herself for the big event tomorrow. This is going to be her first Gensokyo-an Hakurei Shrine Feast.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: My Satchi (older sister) and Ahia (older brother), for giving me advice. Come to think of it, Thank you too, Neko Kuro, Willie G.R., SorrowfulReincarnation and SweetBastion.**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

Yep, there we have it. Despite the character having Marisa's name, it really does not focus that much on her.

Oh, and I've been cutting down the length of my chapters so that I may update with higher frequency. However, just as I said to Mima, I should also take it easy sometimes so that my mind will not bring me off-course and so that I may keep the story straight. (I rewrote it before because of complications related to rushing)

I refer to Alice as Mage, Seven-coloured Puppeteer and Puppeteer here. Marisa, on the other hand, is a Witch, Thief, and Black-and-White.

Ah, yeah… I don't know whether I depicted them properly. Here are their personalities, my version:

Reimu - Cool-Headed, Donations, Lazy, Lazy, Lazy, Mostly Hospitable, Slave-Driver, Lazy

Alice - Cool-Headed/Mature, Calm, Logical/Systematic, Patient, Hard-Working, Dignified

Marisa - Happy, Thief, Overactive, 'Ze', Hard-Working, Slightly Insane, Weird Logic, Optimist

Meibilin - Slightly Insecure, Cute, Generous, Loyal, Lovable, Archaic

Remilia- Cute, Charismatic, Cool-Headed, Childish, Mature, Spoiled, Lolita, Slightly flatter than her younger sister

Sakuya- Loyal, L_o_lic_o_n, Knife, Punctual, Elegant, Maid,_ Natural_

Patchy- Bookworm, Analytical/Sy_s_tematic, Calm, Defensive, Anti-Ze, Magician

Sayu- Whimsical, Archaic, Defensive, Polite, Mannered, Generous, Often Aloof

Kotori- Gensoklopaedia, Childish, Mature, Weak-Hearted, Innocent

Cirno- Saikyou, Atai, Baka-chan, Kouri no Yousei.

Oh, and even though I am using archaic speech for Meibilin, Sayu and (later) Futo, don't expect me to use the third-person -eth (as in Flandre Knoweth) for now. After all, I am still learning the second-person -est (as in Thou Knowest) [modern Flandre Knows/ You Know, respectively]

Expect the girls that have my _Archaic_ tag to use You, Your, Yours and Ye, though not in a singular, but in a plural sense. Thus, they won't be saying "you two" anytime soon. Also, they might use "my" but are more likely to use "Mine" (My Eyes = Mine Eyes)

Please, Review et Review~! They are the Mystia Loreleis of the writer's soul… and as before, feel free to correct me, but state thy reviews kindly. I really can't stand when it is put as harshly as that person did in the past (want some mudkips, mi amigo?)


	10. 3 : Witch's cleanup party

**_Maiden's new Tenant_**

**_3 : Witch's cleanup party_**

**_Let us celebrate, for we are strong._**

* * *

><p>[]<p>

Oh the peaceful Hakurei Shrine!

"GRR… I still can't believe I gave in like that. UGH!" Grumbles Reimu as she paces back and forth in front of the shrine, and she's got LOTS of reasons to be pissed. First of all, she gave in and let Marisa hold a PARTY in HER shrine over such a small achievement as CLEARING her yard and even then, it took her DAYS just to do that small job; all the less of a reason to party for, she reasoned.

_(Yet another) Flashback-_

_"Pleeaaze~? Reimu, Puh-Lease? I'll keep it a small affair, ze." Pleads Marisa with puppy-eyes in front of Reimu, who merely looks to the side and says "Ugh, Get out of here! My shrine is not a bar. You know."_

_"Please, Reimu~! You know that the Human Village's bars are never good places to party in. same with the Forest of Magic, ze. Please?" pleads Marisa some more._

_The red and white's eyes twitch in annoyance as crosses her arms and says "Uh-uh, Nada, No."_

_Marisa stares Reimu in the eye for a few seconds, and it seems like she is about to give up when an evil twinkle flashes in her golden eyes and, with a teasing tone, she says "I'll have them give you donations, ze."_

_In an instant, Reimu's eyes twinkle and she dreamily says "Why~ Wouldn't I~?"_

_The black-and-white pumps her fists, flashes the victory sign, and then exclaims "I WON!"_

_The resident shrine maiden snaps back to reality and then, realizing what happened, stammers. "Ah- I- I didn't- ah, Alright, But keep it clean."_

_Suika materializes between the two and, flipping a thumbs-up at the black-and-white, cheers "You did it!"_

_The two party-lovers then high-five "Yeah!", they say at the same time._

_Back to present…_

Some distance away, having set the shrine for the witch's guests (which meant cleaning it until the entire shrine literally sparkles in the bright sunlight), Meibilin looks at Reimu as a bead of sweat rolls down her face. "Uhm… Don't worry too much, Miss Reimu. It's bad for thy health. Besides, she did say she'll keep their merrymaking clean…."

Reimu turns to the second (temporary) shrine maiden and, waving her arms furiously, says "I know, but…!"

Meibilin waves her hands up and down at the distraught miko, saying "Calm down, Miss Reimu… Calm down, please?"

Before the miko could respond, a black blur lands in front of the shrine, generating a wind that lifts the two red-and-whites' skirts lightly

As the two push their skirts down before they completely fly high, they turn to see Marisa on the last step of the stairway, leaning on her broom like a cowboy as she holds her hat down dramatically, Michael Jackson style and save for a small peek of what appears to be a grin, covers her face… LIKE A BOSS!

Okay, that was lame… anyway, Marisa, after lifting her hat slightly to reveal a smart grin on her face, she says "Hello there, ze~! Is ze place all set to go fa' me party?"

An awkward silence fills the shrine for a few seconds as Marisa looks at Reimu expectantly while the two maidens do the same and stare at Marisa in the eye, Reimu with an unimpressed look and Meibilin with a blank face.

All of a sudden, Meibilin starts clapping as she closes her eyes, her face transforming into a very… very.. VERY sweet smile while she says "That was a wonderful entrance, Miss Witch!" while Reimu adds under her breath "if there were others to see you at least~"

A vein appears on Marisa's face as she glares menacingly at the one-yen maiden, asking "and just WHAT do you mean by THAT?"

Reimu turns her head away as Marisa says so, whistling "I said no~thing, nothing, yea-", and that was when she saw the smile on Meibilin's face. She could picture the world's best flowers blooming beside the other maiden and still not match the smile, which, to her eyes, sparkles. In an instant, Reimu arcs her back, stiffens, and falls to the ground, shivering as if she was just dipped into Cirno's Bubble bath, but a look on her cherry face is enough to tell that she's not really cold.

Marisa notices the smile as well and immediately collapses, her face just as red as Reimu's silly smile plastered all over it.

Hearing the dull thud of two bodies falling to the ground, Meibilin opens her eyes, notices the lack of any standing living beings and, tilting her head to the side, innocently asks "Is anyone there~?"

She is answered by a familiar presence, a certain heaviness in the air and, right before her very eyes, Suika materializes beside the fallen Marisa, who she thought had left, having failed to realize who the two bodies were.

The second shrine maiden waves casually at Suika, who waves casually back as laboured breathing comes from behind the small oni. Just as she shifts her gaze beside Suika, a figure finally takes the last step to the top of the stairs to stand beside Suika, failing to notice the black and white lump underneath her and resting her foot squarely Marisa's chest, forcing her breath out as a small smiling spirit leaves the witch's gaping mouth.

"That… was some mountain, Suika!" says the woman, to which the small oni replies "Nah, that was just a hill there Yuugi."

Yuugi Hoshiguma, former deva of the mountain along with Suika, she has sunset-coloured eyes, long blond hair and a single red horn growing out of her forehead. However, unlike the shrine oni, she appears to be well-developed, with curves hotter than the sun and very firm and beautiful mountains of faith the size dreams are made of.

She wears a white blouse with puffy sleeves, decorated with red with red at the borders and a transparent blue skirt with red lines running vertically over tight black boxers, which for some reason, shows a peculiar bulge. On her wrists are two shackles with broken chains still attached, mirroring the ones on Suika.

On her hands, she carries two barrels of what smells like very high-quality sake.

Shaken from her earlier collapse by the weight on her chest, Marisa Kirisame desperately tries to tell Yuugi to just REMOVE THAT DANMNED FOOT FROM HER BLOODY CHEST by attempting to claw the endowed oni's quite muscular legs, but fails to raise her hand all the way to it, much less evoke even a light reaction. She tries to scream, but apparently is out of air.

Suika, being closer to the ground than the larger oni, swears she could hear just a slight stir in the sand. "Hey, Yuugi, you hear that?"

"Huh?" asks the taller oni as she crouches, placing even more pressure on the black-and-white's poor chest and threatening to reduce her own mountains to the flatness of a toddler. Worse, the larger oni's buttocks is pressed up on the witch's face, silencing her and well… it's an oni's arse for God's sake!

Meibilin points at the poor witch under the oni's feet and, Suika, realizing the source of the noise, points to our poor celebrant as well and, Yuugi, feeling the stares on her skin, jumps back, finally freeing the poor witch and allowing her squished soul to return to her mouth.

Somehow recovering from four broken ribs and a crushed mouth, Marisa jumps up, Yuugi noticing her for the first time, the oni saying "Oh, Hello there Marisa. Where were you?"

The witch points an accusing finger at the breasted oni and says "That's for YOU to say! You crushed my lungs with your foot and my jaw with your ARSE!"

Yuugi stares blankly at Marisa, at her own hand, back to Marisa again and, after a few seconds of concentration, blankly says "I must be drunk", before gulping down a small bottle of sake she bought with her. "Say, where's my sake dish?"

"What the…" grumbles Marisa, but is cut when Suika says "Hey~ you kept it in your pocket, remember?"

The two oni stare at each other for a few seconds before Yuugi says "Nah, you must be drunk. My skirt has no pockets."

"In your panties then" replies Suika.

Yuugi taps her nether regions lightly twice, (don't ask) reaches into and rummages around it, pulls out her sake dish, removing the bulge on her boxers and, as she stares at the shiny ceramic, says "Would you look at that…"

"We're both drunk!" Suika proudly declares.

Having recovered just as Yuugi pulled out the red dish out of her very underwear, Reimu face-palms and says "Ugh~ I can't believe you two… so early, the party has not even started yet, and you are drunk."

Marisa, Yuugi, Meibilin and Suika turn to the now-awakened shrine maiden and the witch says "Oh hello there Reimu!" at the same time as the two oni thump their chests with their left hands, which they then raise in double victory signs as they proudly declare "That's what we oni are!"

Reimu sighs and then turns to look at Meibilin, who is sitting on the shrine porch, looking at Reimu quite seriously and a few seconds pass before she says "I'll be going to the Human Village. Is there anything you want, miss Reimu?"

Raising her eyebrows, Reimu says "Ah… err… the shrine is clean already so…" "SAKE~" cuts in Suika and Yuugi at the same time, earning them a fleeting death glance from the Miko, making the two oni shiver in fear.

"Sake it is then" says Meibilin. "Ciao" she sings as she runs down the heavenly steps down the hill.

As the two oni and the blond witch watch the white-haired red-and-white run off, Suika turns to Marisa and says "Oh, that's right… We have the sake but no food."

"I already took care of that, ze~!" says Marisa as she beams at the small oni, and at the same time, they hear the flapping of wings and a certain musical voice.

**"Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms**

**Covering the mountainside**

**Chin-Chin~**

**As far as you can see**

**Are they mists or clouds?**

**Chin-Chin~**

**Fragrant in the morning sun**

**Cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms**

**Flowers in full bloom**

**Chiiiiin~"**

Hearing the ever-familiar phrase, Reimu falls over, groaning. "Great. Mystia Lorelei. Who let the perverts out?"

Marisa points to herself and, grinning, proudly says "I did!"

Still on the ground, groaning, Reimu says "Lovely. It just has to be the Perverts and the Strange ones… why me? Why, oh why, oh why~?"

The witch pats her miko friend on the back, saying "Cheer up, will ya? It's a Party after all!"

At that exact moment, the singer, Mystia Lorelei lands a bit to the side of Reimu, putting down a small cart she was carrying.

Mystia is a night sparrow youkai with grey eyes, curly pink hair, owl-wing like pointy ears and a pair of wings with light-pink feathers with purple highlights and a matching leading edge and bone.

She wears a long-sleeve brown dress with pinkish-white sleeves and many wing-like buttons adorning the front and ending into a short skirt on the lower edge. On her head is a matching brown cap that has a wing-like ornament adorning the top, and lower down, wears knee-length boots over white socks.

"And here comes our chef" says Marisa as she places her hands on her hips.

"Ah, Marisa-san" says the night sparrow as she wipes her forehead. "Looks like I came early. Can I get my pay in advance?

"Oh, sure", says Marisa as she rummages inside her hat and then pulls out several coins "Here, ze."

* * *

><p><em>"Um, so I'll buy this… and this… and this… right?" mumbles the hovering Meibilin as she examines a piece of paper she holds in her left hand. On her right, she holds a black pen with the stamp 'Tengu HeavenPens©' on the upper side and 'Black first grade Ink ©NitoriTek'. Written on the paper, in serif italic is "Shamisen – O; Sake – O; Oil –O"<em>

_The village is already in sight, thanks to the speed she gained in training for a week. Despite her speed however, she could not at all fly: the best she can do at the moment is to hover at most three feet._

_She stops for a while, takes a deep breath, and then says "I don't even feel tired yet. I must be doing great", before continuing her flight…er, hover to the village._

_Unbeknownst to the cute girl, a shadow stalks her some distance away and glares at her with glowing eyes. A sudden flash of light and the sound of film reeling reverberates though the wooded path and the figure disappears just as Meibilin turns around._

_"Uhm… Is someone there?"_

* * *

><p>Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Yuugi, Marisa and Suika have set a large square mat near one of the many sakura dotting the shrine. On the shrine's porch, Reimu eyes the three picnic- err, partiers and Mystia, who is cooking her specialty lamprey near the shrine's paved path.<p>

"Ah, you can't imagine how messy the place was, ze!" says Marisa as she spreads her arms for effect. "But I worked hard unlike a _certain maiden _and earned around two million yen from selling those things to Kourin. That's what I call income, ze!"

Reimu, several feet away, hearing the reference, falls over and, a shadow covering her face, mumbles "I'll kill you Marisa… I'll kill you…"

As Mystia places several sticks of her grilled lamprey near the three sake-drinkers, Suika says "So unlike ya, huh, Marisa? Ya'd normally keep those things there. What happened?"

Marisa picks her chopsticks as she says "Nah, I only sold the uninteresting ones, ze~", and, shoving a slice of grilled lamprey into her mouth, she sighs, saying "Reimu! Come here, ze! The food's delicious."

"Right…" Reimu hoarsely mutters as she looks up weakly at the picnickers. "I guarantee it, ze!" the black-and-white says.

"Don't count me in. I'm worthless" says Reimu in monotone, with a sleepy face. "I'm just a bum, am I not?"

Before Marisa could respond, a screech fills the air, coming from the direction of the Human Village. "AYAYAYAAAA~!"

Reimu snaps awake and, facing the direction of the scream, says "Wha-", but is cut short when a black blur smashes against her, also coming from the direction of the Human Village, creating a large dust cloud as the maiden breaks through the shrine's porch.

The dust cloud clears a second later to reveal Reimu lying flat on the ground, arms and legs sprawled to her sides, her mouth agape and eyes spinning. On top of the maiden is a strange girl with black wings, short red hair and wearing a dirtied white business shirt with puffy sleeves and a tie, a short black skirt, a red tokin, a black notebook and camera on hand, her mouth agape and eyes spinning, just like the maiden.

The short-haired girl incoherently mumbles something about trident, surprise and Hatate.

The black and white flies over to the crash site, followed by the two oni and, seeing the girl on top of Reimu, says "Woah! Aya! What happened to you?"

Immediately, the two recover, and the first thing Reimu says is… "GET OFF ME YOU DAMNED REPORTER!"

"Ayayayaya~!" mumbles the Aya as she jumps off the oni maiden and crouches on the clean porch to her side, her clothes somehow clean again, her position showing her magnificent, sexy legs and white panties.

That reminds me… I still have not introduced her, have I?  
>The girl is Shameimaru Aya, A crow tengu known as Gensokyo's fastest and has red eyes that can see clearly at speeds way beyond mach 5. She runs Gensokyo's most notorious newspaper, the Bunbunmaru, which is known to and famous for having lies and Aya's own opinions mixed with the actual facts, which are then exaggerated a hundred times.<p>

As the red and white is lifted from the hole by Suika, Marisa asks the tengu "What happened to ya, Aya?"

"Ugh…" groans Aya as she scratches her head nervously. "This is what happened…"

**_Girls are explaining…_**

_"Is someone there?"_

_Meibilin stops hovering and starts walking slowly towards the human village as she eyes her surroundings warily. From behind her come a few more shutter clicks and fleeting flashes._

_As the cute girl turns around, but sees nothing but a leaf floating to the ground. As she eyes her surroundings once more, a few more flashes flash from several different points around her._

_"This isn't funny… someone there" says the now-shivering temporary miko as she turns around again._

_"Ah! Hello!" rapidly says somebody from behind her. "Care to give me an inter-", but is cut when the jumpy, cute and terrified girl screams in shock, involuntarily reaches for her trident and smacks the person behind her with such force that the trees near her bend slightly to the side and the person, Aya, is sent flying all the way to the Hakurei Shrine at terribly high speed._

_"AYAYAYAAAA~!"_

_Meibilin calms down instantly, tilts her head to the side and, placing her left pointer finger to her lips, asks "Is someone there?"_

**_Girls are finished explaining…_**

"Well, you deserved it" says Reimu, who has joined Marisa and the two oni to their small picnic along with Aya.

The tengu, a shadow above her and whimpering with downcast eyes mumbles "Yeah… I guess I do."

Marisa, who is squatting beside Aya, smacks the tengu on the back and then says "Cheer up, and welcome to the feast, ze!", making Reimu chuckle as the Red-and-White says jestingly says "Yeah right… feast… more like a picnic."

"I heard that, ze", says Marisa as she gulps down some sake, courtesy of Yuugi, who says to the tengu "Yeah, why don't we have a drinking competition, just like the old days before we oni left the mountain."

"Indulge" says Mystia from behind the witch as she places a large platter of grilled lamprey on the mat. "My best it is, Chiin~"

"Thanks" Marisa says as she puts an entire slice into her mouth while Yuugi and Aya stare at each other's eyes, sparks dancing between them. Just in front of them are two sake bottles, both full to the brim from the sake that Suika somehow poured from the barrels without spilling a drop.

"Ready?" says Yuugi as she grabs her bottle.

"Ready when you are, oni" replies Aya as she uncaps her bottle. At that exact moment, Suika scatters a few uncooked rice grains between the two as she says "For our two competitors… grab your equipment."

"…GO!"

On the small oni's word, the larger oni hurriedly pours sake onto her dish, drinks it clean, pours, and then drinks again. Aya, on the other hand, is chugging the sake straight from the bottle.

Keeping their distance, Reimu, Aya and Mystia stare at Aya and Yuugi with disbelieving looks as the two go at it. After half a minute, both sake bottles are tossed to the side, empty, as Suika grabs one of the Sake barrels and the pours the contents onto small cups that the two pick up, drink, and then put down as soon as they fill up. After a few minutes, Suika switches to the second barrel, but just before she could pour from it, the two slam their fists on the ground and say "THAT'S IT!"

Without thinking, Aya and Yuugi punch small holes on the barrel and then stick their lips to said holes, drinking the sake inside furiously.

By now, the three spectators' eyes have turned into dumb circles and their mouths into rough boxes as they stare dumbstruck at the two's stunts. Without thinking, Marisa says "That's an indirect kiss…"

Turning to face the witch, Reimu says "Yes, I know."

For a few minutes, the two competitors gulp down the sake as fast as they could and when the trickle finally lightens, they smash their heads inside the barrel and then lap up the remaining sake like crazed dogs, ending up doing something quite perverted when the barrel is completely drained. Noticing what they are doing, the two girls blush terribly behind their drunken faces and then try with all their might to get their heads out of the barrel.

From outside, the two look like a frog as they pull their heads back, yet failing somehow and ending up jumping up and down, turning them, in Reimu's eyes, a chimera clown as they thrash around wildly like a rodeo horse.

The spectators, along with Suika, who joined them in staying away to avoid being kicked by the raging barrel-oni-tengu horse, lie on the ground, trying their best not to laugh, yet obviously failing as they grasp their stomachs, their faces red and twin waterfalls spilling out of their eyes. Marisa in particular has gone even farther, even pounding and rolling on the ground.

Finally, the two break free of the evil barrel's grasp and then turn away from each other, holding their hands over their mouth and tears welling up in their eyes.

The spectators and Suika stop for a moment, stare at the drunk two and then laugh even harder.

The tengu and the oni stare at the crowd of four rolling on the ground laughing, but before they could say a word, from the shrine's gate comes Meibilin, calling out sweetly, "Miss Reimu~ I'm Ba~ck!"

The six immediately stop laughing and turn their heads to face Meibilin, who has just finished climbing –or more like floating up- the stairs and is walking towards them. On one hand is a small bottle of coconut oil and a gourd of sake, and unto her back, a Shamisen and its pick. She raises her free hand and waves casually at the group while smiling sweetly. "Hi~"

Yuugi and Aya's face turn even redder than drunk red and fall over while Marisa and Reimu fall over and spurt twin nosebleeds. Suika and Mystia, on the other hand, are blushing heavily, but otherwise are unaffected and return a casual wave.

A few minutes later, Marisa, Reimu, Yuugi and Aya, having recovered, sit in a circle on the mat, along with Suika, Mystia and Meibilin, all eating the grilled lamprey contentedly except Meibilin, who is practicing something on the shamisen and Mystia, who keeps on looking at Meibilin and her shamisen.

After playing one more bar of a certain tune on the Shamisen, Meibilin stops and mutters "Just like the Kujapi… I wonder how they sound so alike: they look quite different… they both have two stings, but…", she thinks for a while and then adds "nah, this is good. At least I know how to play it."

On the side of the mat opposite of Meibilin, Aya looks at the cute girl nervously, trembling slightly as she shoves a lamprey into her mouth, but looses focus and letting the fish slip off her chopsticks and back unto her plate.

Meibilin notices this and asks "What is the matter, miss…"

"Aya" says, trying to pick the slice of lamprey she dropped earlier, but keeps on failing as her shaking hand keeps on making her miss the morsel.

"Aya", Meibilin repeats. "What is thy woe, Miss Aya?" asks Meibilin, resting her chin on her wrist.

"Ah… err… nothing" says Aya as she waves her hands in front of her while thinking _'Didn't she know who she threw all the way here earlier?'_

"Ahahaha~ Ya sent 'er flying all ze way here, ze!" says Marisa as she stabs (yes, stab) a lamprey with her chopstick.

Reimu, to her side, thinks _'who in the world taught this girl how to use chopsticks?'_

Meibilin, realizing what she has done, prostrates and says "Forgive me Miss Aya… It was an impulse, honestly!"

Aya, seeing the girl in front of her, sighs and tries to speak, but ends up spitting choking sounds instead as she forgot to swallow the lamprey that she finally devoured and now is stuck in her throat. "Gahk~ Acht~ Ack~ Ighichagh!"

The tengu instinctively reaches for the nearest liquid and drinks it greedily. However, it turns out to be sake and screams as the unexpected bite of alcohol hits her still-throbbing throat.

Ignoring the tengu's plight, Mystia taps the temporary miko on the shoulder, whispers something into her ear and then walks away with her.

The remaining four stare curiously at the two as they leave before returning to the food. After a few seconds, Reimu stops, taps her stomach, and then says "I'll get fat…"

After a few seconds, the Mystia and Meibilin return to the scene of the picni- err, feast and then Mystia declares, "We'll hold a performance. Is that alright?"

Marisa's hand immediately reaches for the sky. "I vouch for a performance"

"Good. Ready?" says Mystia as she turns to look at Meibilin.

"Ready."

"This will be good", says Reimu as she sees Meibilin and Mystia play a few lines on their respective Shamisen; Meibilin's is black with a pure white front and a pure black pick while Mystia's is brown with a bird-feather decorated front* and a floral-decorated pick.

After a few seconds of strumming on the Shamisen, Meibilin then opens her mouth and starts singing in a high tone.

**Sakura sakura**

**Noyama mo sato mo**

**Miwatasu kagiri**

**Kasumi ka kumo ka**

**Asahi ni niou**

**Sakura sakura**

**Hana zakari**

Meibilin then plucks a few more notes and then Mystia continues.

**Sakura sakura**

**Yayoi no sora wa**

**Chin~ Chin~**

**Miwatasu kagiri**

**Kasumi ka kumo ka**

**Nioi zo izuru**

**Chin~ Chin~**

**Izaya izaya**

**Mini yu kan**

**Chiiin~**

The two strum the last few lines and then bow at their spectators, who then clap at the two.

"Spectacular Performance" says Marisa, then Reimu, turning her head away from Mystia, adds, under her breath "But the bird is still perverted."

"Ah, a good party" says Yuugi as she eyes the sky, "But I think I'll have to go home—the sun is already high in the sky."

"See ya, Yuugi!" says Suika as she waves her arms at the oni.  
>In an instant, Reimu's aura bursts in flames, making The black-and-white and the remaining oni feel shivers running up their spines.<p>

"YOU. SAID. THAT. YOU'LL. DONATE!"

"Waa~!" Screams Marisa and Suika as the latter turns immaterial, leaving the former cowering for her life as she runs to the donation box, carrying a large bag of coins she hopes will calm Reimu down. She looks at her back and then…

OH BLOODY MOTHER OF ALL THAT'S HOLY! IT'S **ONI MIKO REIMU**!

To her luck, Marisa manages to spill at least 500 yen into the box just before the oni miko reaches her, the red-and-white returning to normal and jumping on the donation box with a drooling mouth as soon as the sound of coins reach her ears.

"Take it. I have more to spare and besides, I really don't need money, ze." Says Marisa as she lays her back against a tree several feet away, her face failing to hide the lingering traces of fear that she felt. "I'll be leaving, ze!"

Thirty metres away from the shrine, Mystia is already carrying her beloved cart away, humming happily at her day's net income. However, back on the ground, at the shrine, Meibilin wipes her forehead at the messy grounds.

"Ah, it seems like I have a lot to clean up, then, huh?" she says to no-one in particular.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, belongs to Zurocha**

**Broken Down 2012:06:20;****水曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: None**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

So, how is Marisa's little Picni- err, Feast?

I originally wanted Komati to be here, but nah, it would seem like I am rushing if I introduce her so early. I mean, she's a shinigami for Shinki's sake!

I also wanted to add more events, double the amount in fact, and that would have made this a 10K word chapter, but I decided to cut it short due to lack of motivation and the fact that I kept on being disturbed. I did not even write that much of this yesterday. I would have wanted Sakuya in here too…

Mystia&Meibilin pairing, eh? Well, they both are good singers and cooks… fits'em. Oh, and I suggest this: never EVER sneak up on Meibilin, or face the same fate as Aya. Poor wind god girl… and to think that I am listening to her theme (in traditional Japanese instruments) right now… hnnn…

Oh, and that song is **Sakura Sakura**, the traditional Japanese Rhyme. I love it… I even sung it once in front of my classmates as a part of my English Oral Recitation/Project on folk songs.

So, what do you think so far?.

* * *

><p>Foot-notes, etc.<p>

*The "kawa" of the Shamisen. Usually white.


	11. 1 : Start!

**_Meikai Square_**

**_1 : Start!_**

**_Wudes Wudas bëon Abläse_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Mid-noon [12:00]<em>**

"So… lessee~ it's like this, ha?" mumbles a certain pink-eyed human as she puts on a half-kilo steel belt around her waist. "And then like this…" she continues as she lifts off, slowly at first, slowly gaining altitude until she is at least a foot off the ground, "I'm flying!" she screams in delight.

Several feet behind her, resting against a bamboo leaf, Kotori says, sweatdropping. "Uhm, Miss Sayu, I think you are more like _Hovering_ instead of actually _Flying_. There's a big difference."

"Is that so~?" Sayu giggles, before she suddenly disappears in a powerful pop which was followed by a powerful updraft of wind and a steady sonic boom, both seemingly from nowhere.

"Sayu-sama!" Shocked and concerned, Kotori looks up and sees Sayu shooting upwards as fast as a bullet- literally, the bamboo stalks nearest to her being stripped of their outermost skin… bark… or whatever it is that bamboo have as she flies past.

As the silver-haired girl, eyes bulging out of their sockets and gaping mouth reaching all the way to the forest floor, watches the speed demon above her, Sayu suddenly stops and then starts falling back to the ground; slowly at first, gradually speeding up until she reaches her momentum when she was rocketing skywards.

Kotori could not believe it. Seeing somebody she saw as a slow, struggling and very human flier suddenly shoot skywards at murderous speeds and somehow managing to stay in one piece was strange enough, but then that same person had to head downwards at the exact same speed! she looks around and then calculates the chances of her survival should Sayu hit the ground, only to come up with only one result. Her eyebrows thinning, she realizes that should Sayu hit the ground at her velocity, everything within a fifty-metre radius would be destroyed and an equally-sized crater taking its place. Not only that, she is to hit the ground in… six seconds. CRAP!

Her eyes and indeed, her entire face filling with panic, Kotori flies the fastest she could away from being a part of the next great dinosaur extinction, or at least, even if she is not to get past the 50-metre radius, at least she could be some distance away from the epicentre.

Drei… Dos… Ichi… oh wait, why did the language change? Oh well. Heil Doom!

Preparing herself for the blast, Kotori curls up into a well-shielded round ball as a last act of desperation.

'_Our father, who art in heaven… this is it!'_ she thinks, awaiting the explosion and her doom. …However, the expected explosion did not come, and instead, the mini-sonic boom that accompanied Sayu on her way down slowly faded and a strong wind followed by the gentle touchdown of two feet on the ground took its place.

"Huh? What happened, Kotori?"

Kotori, still huddled up, shivering and floating a good twenty metres away from Sayu, shivers. '_What In and for the love of Gensokyo just happened?_', then she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Huh?" the little youkai whines as she uncurls, seeing Sayu staring at her with a confused expression.

"Kotori?"

"Yes, miss Sayu?"

"Why are you all curled up and shivering? Are you cold?"

"Ye- I mean No, Miss Sayu."

Sayu giggles, removes her weight belt and then says "I'm so hung~ry Kotori, why don't we pack a few snacks, hmm?"

"Yes, miss Sayu." Kotori says before she runs off to what she could call 'Home'.

She and Sayu had built it, a large, low, and very much flat-roofed Japanese-like mansion on a land they cleared over a week back. Sayu had more planned for the building it seems (and that includes a tall build of six floors), but at least within one week, they finished most the lowest, base or ground floor of the building, and that was enough to serve as a house for them for now.

The clearing is eighty metres wide by sixty metres long, separated from the Bamboo Forest by a tall fence that itself is made of bamboo. At the centre of the clearing is a twenty-by-twenty metre wide building- the base floor of the actual mansion Sayu had somehow sketched in a single night. It is eight metres tall from floor to ceiling and one metre tall from the ground to the floor. From the western and southern sides it seems to be complete, with even varnish in place. However, at the centre of the building, the roof abruptly ends in a sixteen-by-sixteen metre opening that shows the wooden floor underneath, which in case of rain, is covered by ribbed steel sheets that direct rainwater away into drainage holes.

The insides seem to have been finished as well, the exception being the areas and rooms located in the northern and eastern parts of the building, as well as those that are touching, partly in, or completely within the roofless area, where the wooden scaffolding are still in place and completely necessary.

That said, It is still very much incomplete, though usable, as the kitchen and dining rooms -both located on the western corner of the mansion- are at least finished, with the second of the two rooms serving as the bedroom due to lack of proper and complete bedrooms. Sometimes, Kotori wonders why it should be a mansion at all. Why could it not be a small house?

It might as well be though, for Sayu's blueprints show that only the first two floors are fully functional as living rooms, guest rooms, storage rooms and the sort actually necessary in a house. Floors three to five appear to be quite peculiar, the three floors serving as the library, music/musical instruments room, as well as an art display room and having a ten-metre wide open area where they merge. Floor six, the smallest, yet highest, deliberately raised fifteen metres off of the last floor and connected to it through a winding steel staircase, is also the most spacious of all with the dimensions of nine-by-nine-by-twenty metres, but seems to be nothing but one big perch where Sayu can sit her days out, drinking tea while admiring the repetitive view of… bamboo through massive full-height windows that dominate most of the room. It has full view of the grounds, however, making it a good guard post. There's also the view of the gardens to note: ensured, when the gardens bloom, Sayu and Kotori are to be greeted with a break from all the bamboo.

At the partly-finished ground floor, Sayu is sitting on the floor near the table, a square piece of furniture two metres across and is packed, really, PACKED of foodstuff, so packed, in fact that Kotori's and Sayu's plates barely fit. among those on the table are Maki, Shuumai, Sushi, Bamboo shoot and Meat stew, Benukogan*, Pork Blood Stew, Lomi, Vegetable Salad and Mango Float. All that food does not seem to be enough, for the door separating the kitchen and the dining room opens, Showing Kotori with rags on her hands, carrying a steaming pot that she sets down on the table, placing it on top of a rag as to avoid burning the table and opens it, revealing a highly insane dish- small red chilli peppers chopped into small pieces and cooked in a soup of coconut milk. As to how they obtained the coconuts to extract said coconut milk, only God knows.

Several minutes later, Sayu sighs contentedly as she rubs her stomach. On the other side of the table, Kotori is groaning, lying face-up on the floor, her face red and eyes spinning. The white-haired youkai tried to taste the chilli-pepper soup and ended up squirming in pain for several minutes before she collapsed due to exhaustion. For some reason however, Sayu, who drank the entire pot empty of the chilli-pepper soup did not at all seem affected and even look pleased eating it. Heck, her mouth did not even turn red!

Speaking of Sayu, for some reason, she actually managed to eat all of the food on the table (Kotori ate only two platefuls) and somehow kept the varied and contrasting food from fighting each other inside her stomach. Either that, or she is immune to stomach pains.

"Hey, Kotori…"

No response.

"Kotori?"

This time, Sayu is answered by a weak groan.

The human covers her mouth with the black fan she always carries around, giggles eerily, walks over to the other side of the table, kneels, and without warning, stabs Kotori's left thigh with a syringe filled with a green liquid, which she empties into the silver-haired youkai. Immediately, Kotori gasps, recovers and then sits straight just as Sayu withdraws the syringe and hides it behind her back.

Having recovered so quickly from the food-induced knockout, Kotori expected something like a sort of weakening or tiredness. However, she felt strong instead… overcharged, even. The burn that knocked her out was gone as well, and now that she considered it, the only bad thing that probably accompanied her recovery would be the sharp stinging pain in her thigh… that, and the following lower-body burn.

_'Speaking of stings, what caused it?'_ she thinks and then glances to her side, ending up staring at the pink glowing eyes of Sayu, whose face is just a mere inch from her own.

"Wah!" the silver-haired youkai exclaims as she jumps back from the sudden shock of seeing Sayu's face so close to hers and then lands several feet away. She recovers quickly and stares back at Sayu, whose eyes are no longer glowing, and says "Don't shock me like that, Miss Sayu!", but at the same time wonders whether the glow she saw earlier was real and what could it mean for her eyes to glow as such.

Sayu giggles in response, stands up, and then says "Why don't we go to The Netherworld, Kotori?"

Kotori immediately becomes pale, her eyes turning into circles and her mouth into a square. "WHAAAAT!" she screams. "Did you just think of that out of nowhere? The Netherworld is dangerous, Sayu-sama!"

The pink-haired human merely giggles, the tone eerie and to say that it really unnerved Kotori would be an understatement. Without saying a word, Sayu jumps over Kotori, grabs the white-haired youkai by the waist and then flies off to the Bamboo Forest at her insane high speed. By the time Kotori realizes what happened, their house is already out of sight and, realizing this, Kotori screams "WAAA! SAYU-SAMA, DON'T DO THA-", and then realizes that any protest would be futile as she sees Sayu looking on ahead without even as much glancing down on Kotori.

Sighing in defeat, Kotori says "At least we should have set a defence system on the place…"

Sayu slows down all of a sudden, the unexpected loss of speed nearly knocking Kotori's eyeballs out. Without saying a thing, Sayu hands Kotori two small slips of blue paper, which apparently were ripped in half, and, placing the seams of the rip together the small youkai reads aloud. "Class A Defence Ward. Guaranteed to keep away all intruders from entering the designated space. Beware: this ward consumes the energy of the person who activates it. To set, place the four charms on the boundaries of the location to be defended. Please rip this message in half to activate spell… Oh, so-"

Kotori never got the chance to finish that sentence as Sayu suddenly shoots forward.

"HELP MEE!" Cries Kotori, trailing twin waterfalls as she grips on the ripped paper tightly, scared to death as Sayu weaves her way through the dense Bamboo Forest, and Kotori's fear is well-founded: Even a tiny mistake, a tiny lapse of judgement at Sayu's high speed in a forest this dense would be enough to endanger both of their lives with a high-speed crash.

Thankfully, the silver-haired youkai needn't worry about crashing into bamboo anymore as Sayu shoots from the dense forest and into open space.

Sayu slows down, coming to a halt above the Forest of Magic and then lets Kotori go.

The small youkai's eyes turn glassy, a small tear forming on her left eye as she sniffles "T-That was scary, Sayu-sama. Please don't do it again, please?"

The pink-haired human smiles, hums, and then pinches Kotori's cheeks, saying "Cuute~!", making the said white-haired youkai blush slightly.

"Hush. Cry not, Kotori... say, knowest thou the way to The Netherworld?"

"Uhm…" says Kotori as she scratches her head. "I've known it from rumors and stuff… but I never went there myself…"

"Oh…" says Sayu, holding her black fan in front of her mouth again. "Where do you think it is then?"

Kotori tilts her head to the side and starts scratching her head. "Hmm… since the name implies that it is underground… why don't we go to the underground?"

"Nice point" says Sayu. "Thou knowest the way there, then?"

"I don't know" Mumbles Kotori. "I don't know really, but the rumours say tha-" Kotori suddenly stops, hearing footsteps approaching

"Hmm~?" hums Sayu as she looks down along with Kotori.

A girl is walking on the forest floor below them. She has slightly wavy golden hair that reaches her neck, with a red ribbon as a headband. Sayu and Kotori can't see her eyes, but they can see that she is wearing a blue dress with a white cape and has pink ribbons on her waist and collar, and whenever her hands come into view, it is shown that there are bands of black cloth on her fingers and white ribbons on her wrists. Overall, she looks like a regular human, but Sayu immediately identifies her as a youkai, first, due to her aura, and second, due to the large amount of scrap metal which she is carrying; humans cannot carry that much, she reasons mentally.

"Why don't we ask her?" suggests Kotori, to which Sayu agrees to by swooping down in front of the youkai.

"Hello, Miss Youka-" starts Sayu, but is cut when the youkai, shocked by Sayu's sudden appearance, shrieks, and then sends a sword-bearing fairy at the pink-haired human, who instinctively unsheathes Yukizakura slashes the fairy in two.

Upon seeing what she just slashed, Sayu realizes that it is not really a fairy, but a doll, and a well-made one at that. "Wha-"

"MISS SAYU, LOOK OUT!" Kotori suddenly screams from above, allowing Sayu to notice the horde of dolls sent her way, all bearing undoubtedly lethal kitchenware.

"Blade Sign… Black Spark!" Sayu declares, tossing a red card into the air. As the card disintegrates, Yukizakura turns a blackish-purple, black sparks dancing across the blade. Sayu then raises Yukizakura above her, channelling even more power into the sword and forming a small sphere of black at the ground, which creates small purple particles that turn black and fly towards the blade, forming a black cloud of miniature danmaku.

Just as the youkai sends another horde of dolls her way, Sayu points the sword, along with her left hand at said youkai, sending the energy and accompanying dark cloud of danmaku her way, engulfing the dolls and completely destroying them before splitting into two comets of energy that fly towards the youkai, who jumps out of the way, only to realize that the orbs are homing and fast.

Sayu stares on as the youkai creates a small barrier that barely absorbs the first comet. The second comet gets through, but is so weakened by the barrier that it only causes the youkai to fly to the ground.

Not wasting time, Sayu charges her black spark attack again, overcharging it and turning the forest near her into a near-night, but instead of firing it at the youkai, she fires it at the ground, creating a ripple of energy radiating off the spot where she fired the spell and stripping the grass and making the trees suddenly wilt and drop their leaves, the ones nearest to her even disintegrating into dust.

The youkai, just as she recovers, realizes that she is buried under a half-foot deep layer of wood dust, turns to look at Sayu several feet from her and then throws a lone doll, oddly unarmed this time.

As predicted, Sayu slashes the doll, but flies skyward just a half-second before the doll explodes, igniting the wood dust. Several metres away from where the doll exploded, the youkai tries to jump off the ground, but finds herself gripping the ground as a sudden wind starts pulling the wood dust towards the centre of the blaze, creating a burning pillar that burns brightly and hotly for several seconds before dying out completely, then, just as the last bit of smoke leaves the blackened pillar, the wind holding the soot up stops.

Shocked, the youkai looks up and sees Sayu pointing Agakara at the ground. Just as she stands up, Sayu sheathes both her swords and lands, and starts walking towards the youkai, but is stopped when dolls suddenly fly her way and point their deadly kitchenware at her.

Sighing slightly, Sayu says "I am not here to fight, Miss Youkai." Then, eyeing the dolls surrounding her face, she says "I just want inquire thee on something."

"Is that so? What is it then?"

"I wish to know the way to the underground."

The youkai squats on the now-bare ground and then says "I might know someone who knows where it is."

At that same moment, the dolls leave Sayu alone, and then, realizing something, she gasps, bows, and then says "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself…" straightening up, she says ""

Sayu had changed her alias three times during the week alone before finally ending up with one she favoured.

"I am Eru. Eru Bon Akacha, a human. May I ask thy name, Miss Youkai?"

"Alice. Alice Margatroid, puppeteer, magician and former human."

The two stay silent for a while before Sayu says "So… the underground?"

"Ah yes…" says Alice, picking up the scrap she dropped earlier. "Her name is Patchouli Knowledge. She assisted a 'friend' of mine when that friend of mine went underground." and finishing the sentence, the puppeteer walks away. Just before she enters the wooded area, she half-turns and says "You can find her in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, on the Misty Lake. Go straight west. You can't miss it. By the way, I dropped a book. Give it to Patchouli."

Sayu looks on as the figure of Alice disappears into the darkness of the forest, looks around, spots a small brown book, picks it up, then flies upwards to join Kotori, who did not move an inch through the entire battle.

As she hovers slowly skywards, Sayu examines the book. It's bound in thick leather, locked and with several coloured crystals where the keyhole should be. The front cover is richly decorated and etched with the words "Auslögʃmazycßangʃboc."

"Come," the pink-haired human says. "Let's go to this Misty Lake place", and with that, they both head west, flying slowly and separately. However, they barely travelled five metres when Sayu suddenly shot upward at bullet-speed.

**"Sayu-samaaaa!"**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Hakurei Jinja, Border at the Far East of Gensokyo <em>**

**_Early Afternoon [13:45]_**

Reimu Hakurei stretches her arms to the side, a maiden without worry. She lets herself fall backwards, letting the sensation spread through her entire body as she closes her eyes…

A second later, the shrine maiden's body connects with the slightly rough and cool waters of the shrine's pond and sinks a foot down. After a few seconds, she floats to the surface, opens her eyes, and after a sigh, closes her eyes again, letting herself float where the water wills her to, her face as one of calm and bliss.

At the bottom of the shallow end of the lake, several feet away from the fully-clothed shrine maiden and 30 metres under the surface, Meibilin sits contently with her back against a rock, feeding the fishes that come near her.

The temporary shrine maiden of Hakurei is wearing a white bikini that celebrates her wonderful, womanly figure down from her glorious legs, to her elegant, wonderful curves, and up to her wonderful ample-sized jewels, all the while the underwater light effects make her light, smooth, and clear skin seem angelic. Add to that the sight of her freely floating pink hair and you've got heaven on earth.

After feeding a large eel (lucky creature!) the last of the bread she bought with her, she kicks off the bottom and slowly starts ascending, slowly, as not to shock her body with too much nitrogen in her blood.

Back on the surface, still floating on her back, Reimu softly hums "Ach Autumn Leaves, Ye fell off to be spread by the wind… like the dreams that upon waking, fade. It became like the love I have now, that everything said has hope, disappeared. This is my love for yo-"

She is suddenly cut from her singing when from the skies, an ever-familiar and irritating voice calls out "Hey, Reimu! What are ye doing down there, ze?"

In an instant, the peaceful look on Reimu's face disappears and is replaced by a frown as she opens her eyes to glower at the damned black-and-white.

"Why are you here?" the red-and-white growls while she activates a small waterproofing spell, and as she does, the excess moisture on her clothes, hair and skin begin to run off and return to the pond, which's waters are now repelling Reimu like oil.

As the red-and-white walks out of the pond (dry, of course), Marisa says "B-O-R-E-D BORED! There's nothing to do in the Forest of Magic, my experiment with increasing the power of Master Spark is at a standstill, Alice is still busy cleaning up her yard, Patchouli's not in her library and it's boring just stealing something without having to sneak under her nose, and since I broke my cauldron, I had to order a new one and it'll be some time before it arrives!"

The red-and-white's left eye twitches at having her peace broken for such a small reason, and, a vein appearing on her forehead, she says "Marisa, give me one good reason why I should not throttle you with a Fantasy Heaven… right now."

Marisa ignores Reimu and stares behind the maiden, her face beet-red, eyes nearly popping out of their sockets and her jaw almost dropping to the ground. "Ooh La-La!"

Reimu turns to whatever Marisa is looking at and gets the shock of her life

Over at the lake, Meibilin has just emerged from the depths and is hovering with half her body out of the water, stretching her arms with one of her eyes closed, the other half-closed.

At the bank, both Marisa and Reimu stare on, watch the temporary shrine maiden's ample breasts, and tap their own ones, sigh, and then say "we're beat."

They turn to look at Meibilin once again, who is now hovering a foot above the water surface. Out of nowhere, a dove lands on her shoulder and the temporary miko giggles as she pets the bird.

Marisa and Reimu, seeing this, fall backwards in twin nosebleed fountains and then turn to stones.

**"AYAYAYAYAYAYA~!"**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Misty Lake<em>**

**_Early Afternoon [14:15]_**

"Kotori"

"Yes, Sayu-sama?"

"It looks like we're in the Misty Lake"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"There's a scarlet mansion up ahead."

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"We're near the mansion"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

At this, Sayu stops, and indeed, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or SDM, is right below them. Afraid that she'll get lost, Kotori ended up being carried by Sayu. However, it turned out that Sayu can't quite control flight yet, so it ended up with Kotori supporting Sayu's body while Sayu tells Kotori where to go.

A good plan, actually, as during the last few minutes on their way to the lake, when she was flying under her own power, Sayu ended up either shooting upwards suddenly, falling to the ground or crashing against a tree. Once, she even slowed down completely only to suddenly spin like a top. Another time, she suddenly shot backward and sent a certain crow tengu flying all the way to the Hakurei Shrine.

"There's a lady wearing pink at the gate"

"Yes, Sayu-sama"

"Are you dead?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"How are you, Kotori?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"Are you a pair of chopsticks?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"Are you asleep?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"What is your name?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"…"

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

"…"

"Yes, Sayu-sama"

Sayu face-palms, mutters to herself "Now, even for me, that's just plain weird."

"Yes, Sayu-sama."

Sighing, Sayu brings her mouth near Kotori's ear and then, after taking a small breath, says "Kotori, I see a gigantic island of sweets."

Shocked silly from her half-asleep half-awake state, Kotori waves her arms in the air as she suddenly stops flying. "Where are the… sweets?"

Sayu and Kotori scream as they suddenly plunge straight down, startling a certain lazy gate guard from her napping.

**"Who's there?"**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Somewhere…<em>**

**_? [?:?]_**

_"Why are we doing this again? I beat you at this game every time."_

_"I refuse to give up."_

_"This is getting boring. What about a change of pace? S***p Poker?"_

_"That's a new one. Challenge Accepted."_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Miʃty Lake<em>**

**_Early Afternoon [14:18]_**

Kotori and Sayu look up, dazed at the sudden fall they had. They fell straight into the water. Luckily, however, a certain somebody who introduced herself as Hong Meiling dragged them out of the water before they drowned.

"So, what is the reason that you came to the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" asks Meiling while leaning against the gate.

Meiling has long scarlet hair, aqua-coloured eyes, wears a green Chinese dress with white borders and a matching green beret with a golden star that has the kanji for dragon etched into it.

Having recovered from the daze first, Sayu stands, bows, and, making sure the book she picked up earlier is visible, she says "I want to inquire a certain Miss Patchouli about something. Someone by the name of Alice also wanted me to return this book here."

The gate guardian's eye trails to the book cradled between Sayu's arms and starts reading the title. "_Auslögʃmazycßa_…"

She suddenly stops reading, her face twisted in shock and her entire body trembling. "no… it cannot be…", she mutters with evident fear. "Go… Go on ahead. R-return it to her as soon as possible… p-please, keep that away from me."

As Meiling opens the gate, a smile flashes across Sayu's face as she bows and says "Why, many thanks to thee." And, half-turning to Kotori, motions for the white-haired youkai to follow her as she enters the mansion's spacious grounds.

Everything's going good so far, but one thought lingers in Kotori's mind as she follows the pink-haired human. '_Why was she so terrified of this book?_'

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Updated 2012:06:24;****日曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: The creator of Baka to Tesuto to Shoukanjou's Hideyosi, who was one of the three characters that were Meibilin's inspirations.**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

As you can see, some chapters in this ARC will use location markers and timestamps. Not all chapters will have them though—I'll put them where they are necessary for indicating the flow of time.

* * *

><p>Binokogan is an eastern central bisaya (Kana) word for bone soup (Sugbu: Binukugan)<p>

Yukizakura is held with the left hand and Agakara with the right.

Barriers: Alice is not a barrier manipulator so WTH? Well, as you can see in Hisoutensoku, all characters can create small barriers as defences.

Eru Bon Koucha = L (L Lawliet) Bond (James Bond) Koucha (Red[black]Tea)

_Auslögʃmazycßangaʃboc [OE **Aut**/MD **Aus** (Out)] [ON **Lög **(Law)] [Mispelled ME **Magics**] [OE **Sang** (Song)] [OE **Boc** (Book)] = Book of Outlawed Magic Songs (Spells)_


	12. 2 : Viewpoints

**_Meikai Square_**

**_2 : Viewpoints_**

**_What is one divided by zero? -Kotori_**

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><p><strong><em>Kotori's POV<em>**

Alright, let's just say I had a _very _strangeweek.

_A around seven or eight days ago, I was saved from being wolf-lunch by a strange person who said that she's a human… though I doubt it. I've been with humans plenty of times and they're warm to the touch… she, however, is as cold as a February morning. That's not all that's strange about her. For all I know, humans rarely have pink hair, much less pink eyes. She has both, however, and I can't help hold disbelief to her claim as a human. Anyway, she gave me an alias until I reached the village. An alias is strange enough, but her name does not really sound like something you hear around here: "Sayundo… jan Ginsapa…shin" something… It's quite long. She settled with me calling her Sayu, but with a condition and that is to call her by an alias whenever we go outside. What in the world is with that? It's very suspicious, if you ask me._

_She also does not seem to know the most well-known areas that Gensokyo residents would recognize instantly. I take it she's from outside then… but I thought there was no magic outside- how did she even know those wind-tricks of hers? Furthermore, why is she not shocked of seeing youkai? Most outsiders freak out at the sight of one. It could be possible that she was staying in some dark cave until the time we met, but I wonder…_

_Anyway, we went to the bamboo of the forest and built a house there, and I got to say, I'm impressed with how quickly we managed to create a partially-finished first floor… Okay, so I should call it a mansion instead; it is WAY beyond the line of being a simple house. She kept on calling it a house, but her paper sketch [which, by the way, has a strange illegible script alongside her kanji and kana] shows a building at least eight floors high and eighty of a measure she calls 'kakkapa' or something across at the first floor—roughly fourty square metres in our measuring system. _

_Come to think of it, it's quite suspicious that she has her own measuring system… even more that she has recipes that no-one else here seems to know. And also, I think it's strange that, of all the places I told her about, she has to pick the Bamboo Forest of the Lost: nobody ever wants to live there unless she or he wants to be isolated… like those aliens I heard so much about. But then again, that may be just what she wants—isolation._

_Speaking of the Bamboo Forest, on our way to it, we were attacked by the same wolves she killed before, and it turns out that she's quite good with the sword. We were at a disadvantage though, and it's a good thing when Youmu Konpaku, the half-ghost I've heard about and met at the village with Sayu-sama came by. She helped us get rid of the wolves and after the battle, invited Sayu-sama to The Netherworld upon seeing her sword. Is that a good thing? Anyways, I think I can blame that as to why Sayu suddenly wanted to go to The Netherworld now. But isn't the netherworld supposed to be the place where the dead… uhm, 'live'? We're not dead so—ah, alright! I heard that the red-white went there once, but only because of special circumstances. What about now? Just thinking of going to the land of the dead gives me creeps! We're not going to die… right?_

_Erm, and as I said, Sayu-sama REALLY wanted to go to The Netherworld. We left the Bamboo Forest, and quite quickly too… I was really scared. As soon as we left the bamboo behind though, she stopped, albeit slowly, and by the time she reached zero, we were directly above the Forest of Magic. She asked me the directions to The Netherworld, but I really don't know. Well, since they named it the "Nether" world, I take it that it's underground. I still had to visit the place, but the directions I've heard ten years ago along with gossip about a certain "Utsuo" were really precise, so I trust them… a bit. Before I could tell her the way though, she saw a girl with a blue dress and blond hair, who I immediately recognized as Alice Margatroid. Rumours are good, aren't they? Anyway, it seems like Sayu-sama really shocked the puppeteer when she went to ask directions and ended up getting attacked…_

…_the resulting battle was quick, with Sayu ending up as the winner, and honestly, the way she killed those trees with ease, I can't help but doubt her human-hood even more, and to that her strange, outdated speech and ease in learning flight, and my belief is solid that she's not really human… but she keeps on insisting that she is. Oh well, might as well play along with her. Besides, her aura and scent is that of a human. Maybe she is a bit like the Hakurei miko? I mean, Humans with powers? Hmm… no, maybe not- from what I've heard, the Hakurei look like normal humans. Sayu-sama being a half-youkai is to be ruled out as well since she does not have even a bit of youkai aura in her… it's all human! Well, I do sense a bit of dark, cold inhuman energy emanating from her, but it's not a youkai's aura for all I know; this one is just too… how should I say it? Cold, damp and creepy- the kind you 'feel' when you feel that there's someone behind you but there's not. The kind that can send shivers running down your spines… the kind that can scare the living daylights out of you…!_

…_Maybe I should stop thinking about these things. Anyway, after she won, Alice-san told Sayu-sama of the SDM and gave her a reason to go as well: returning a strange book to Patchouli Knowledge, who we were supposed to ask for information on the underground and its whereabouts. Come to think of it, I just kept still throughout Sayu-sama's fight. From what I've heard, Alice-san is really powerful and managed to defeat the Hakurei miko once. Maybe that's what made me stay still._

_Almost as soon as she regrouped with me however, Sayu suddenly shot straight up. It took a while, but she finally managed to get back down before she crashes against the Hakurei border, saying she's alright. It did not take long, however, before she suddenly bolted backwards, stopping after apparently colliding with something –or someone- at high speed. after a few more mishaps, she sneaked behind me, put her arms around my neck and then stopped flying. She did not even explain why!_

_I learned why she suddenly clung on to me like that a moment later though and realized what I had become: a transport. Normally, this would irk other youkai and make them complain about their pride, but it's Sayu-sama, and she's been the kindest person to me in ages. Besides, I'm one of the weakest youkai around- what use is pride? Oh well, this means I'll become her wings for a while. That is, until she learns how to control her flight. Maybe I'll be teaching her? She did teach me how to fight with these scythes she gave me and she's been very, very kind to me. Maybe I should repay her?_

_Wait, to think of it, how the hell did we manage to avoid crashing against the bamboo back there?_

_Anyway, when we arrived at the SDM, Sayu-sama started stating the obvious, and I swear, I fell asleep… sort of. The next thing I knew, I was shocked awake when Sayu-sama said something about an island of sweets and… we fell. I got to thank the gate guard for getting us out of the water, really. Speaking of the gate guard, she seemed to be genuinely frightened when Sayu-sama presented the book to her. Is there something in it? I sort of remember that on our way here, Sayu-sama opened the book and read it for a while. Oh hey, at least we get free admission! _

_I wonder what the insides of this mansion are like… ah well, for one thing, the creepy, chilling aura I feel from this place can't even compare to that of Sayu-sama, so it can't be that bad. Right?_

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><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Updated 2012:06:24;****日曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Neko Kuro, for making such wonderful stories.**

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><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

I redid a few sentences and added a few more. Overall, I overhauled and clarified some of Kotori's sentences.

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><p>Kakkapa = A self-made shortening of "kapakapa", which means "to wave your arms around". It can also refer to "to thrash" or "to tread water." The correct equivalent of "metre" would be "dopa" (around 1~1.25 metres,) which means "to stretch your two arms to the side away from your body" and can refer to the distance between your fingertips when you do "stretch your two arms to the side away from your body"… a bit like Rumia. I chose "Kapakapa" - "Kakkapa" over "dopa" because it sounds more attractive. I also changed the ratio of KakkapaDopa-Metre from 1/1.5 to 2. `Tis quite silly for me to make these changes, if you ask me, but I still did it. *laugh*


	13. 3 : Ping

_A blank screen appears in front of you. You are confused, as you were expecting to see Gensokyo… in some form. However, you don't ponder for long because the screen suddenly turns white, followed by a red 3D rectangle slowly fading in. You blink twice, confused as to what it is supposed to do, but as before, your question is answered in front of your eyes as large white letters appear on the box, in order: SPG_

_You tilt your head to the side. Obviously, SPG markings are ALWAYS a bad sign; they mean terrible things. Terrible, I say._

_The three white letters flash gold once, then return to white, and when done, a soft, muted, feminine voice says, "SPG. Slack Parental Guidance."_

_You almost do a complete face-palm… but then again, you might have already did and your mind almost blows from the annoying stupidity as the voice continues, "This chapter contains wonderful colour and language. Slack (note the underline) parental guidance is obligatory for youkai children and human elders under 90 years of age."_

_The screen suddenly fizzles just as the letters "SPG" start fading and, right in front of the screen (what?), the annoying face of Zurocha, holding an annoying grin that is too annoying to be annoying but manages to be annoying because… annoying… blah, blah blah, suddenly pops up, smirking annoyingly and that manages to annoy you so much that his face becomes annoying just because it's annoying to see such an annoying face..._

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><p><strong><em>Meikai Square<em>**

**_3 : Ping_**

**_What is one divided by zero? -Kotori_**

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><p>"Wow" Kotori gasps, her mouth wide open, hands stretched to the sides.<p>

Kotori and Sayu are inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion: more specifically, the foyer.

The little youkai has heard about the mansion from numerous erm, 'sources', and though they do speak of this place as grand, what Kotori sees still blows her mind despite her expectations of the place.

Despite appearing to be quite modestly-sized from the outside, the room they are in right now would be almost impossible to fit into the mansion, being a room with a total area that must be twice the breadth of the mansion from the front to the back doors. The foyer is brightly lit as well, despite having no proper windows and the multi-layer skylight-dome above them letting in only a minimal amount of light. The light comes instead from the massive slowly rotating spell circle on the ground and the gothic lamps on the walls.  
>The foyer appears to be built in two levels, the lower floor built in an octagonal design while the upper level, which is accessible by two staircases and mostly invisible to Kotori, appears to stretch into a long hallway, making the young youkai wonder about the real size of the place. Back on the ground floor of the foyer, there are four doors, one directly in front of the two, one leading outside behind them and one each to their sides.<p>

Taking a look around, Kotori notices that the walls and doors are not at all bare and seem to be decorated with gothic carvings, strengthening the overly grand and European feel of the mansion. Then, all of a sudden….

**SHAMEIMARUUUU YOUUUU BIIIIITCCCHHHH!***

It was a very colourful scream and it came out of nowhere. It made Kotori want to jump, fly, scream her guts out, cry like a baby, cover her ears and break mentally. Still, she'd look stupid and she settles for just jumping… or maybe just hop.

"What was that?" the little youkai asks under her breath as she covers her ears… not that it matters since there are no more profanities headed her way, but then again, that makes it hop AND cover her ears.

After a few seconds, she shrugs and continues looking around.  
>Seeing all that grandeur, Kotori suddenly feels an urge to run around the room like a child that has just visited a mall for the first time. She takes one step forward, but stops, clenches her fists and after some effort, banishes the childish desire and steps back. Sayu, however, simply stays put, her black fan covering her mouth.<p>

**"My, my… it seems like we have intruders. Is Meiling sleeping on the job again?**

The voice is childlike, but has a strong charismatic and mature tone. Something about it sends cold shivers running up and down Kotori's spine, plus, it came without warning and shocked the young youkai who dives behind Sayu and peeks from behind the strange human's dress a moment later. Sayu does not seem to notice herself, and stays still with that fan on her hand.

From her reasonable "safe" spot behind Sayu, Kotori starts looking around, but sees nothing. At her third sweep, just as she is about to give up, she notices a pair of scarlet eyes glowing in a dark spot somewhere up on the second floor.

The voice speaks again. "What do you want?"

Kotori stays still, trying to figure out the owner of the voice from the numerous gossips on the place. Just hearing the voice does not seem to be good enough, however. That's the problem with gossip- you get information, but many details remain vague, and a certain newspaper she reads all the time seems to further muddle all of them up. Thankfully, however, she did not have to guess any longer, since the speaker suddenly jumped out of her hiding place, landing on the opposite side of the room, and Kotori recognises her at once.

Gossip may be vague, but newspaper photos aren't. Kotori has seen this person on an article of the newspaper she always reads, an article named "Bunbunmaru Moon Special: SDM goes to the Moon!", and that was about twelve years ago, and she still remembers the name somewhat: youkai don't forget as easily as humans. "Remilia…." She carefully pronounces, recalling the name of the one who supposedly led the invasion to the moon. "…Scarlet."

The Bunbunmaru, one of the top two newspapers, along with the more serious, but less up-to-date Kakashi Spirit News, is well known for its coloured photos. However, eight years ago, it wasn't so, as the publisher/writer/journalist of the newspaper used a hardy, but purely black-and-white NitoriTek(tm) carbon printer back then. That meant that Kotori only recognized the face and clothes of the unjustly feared Remilia Scarlet. Prior to actually meeting her in person, she thought that the vampire wore a white dress with a black ribbon, had silver hair and snow-white pale skin.

However, the Remilia Scarlet she met is actually colourful- her wavy hair, which normally reaches down to her shoulders, is purple in colour and is tied up into a small ponytail with the black ribbon that she normally wears on her mob-cap, which she isn't wearing, by the way. Her are similar to the ones she normally uses, but her dress, instead of pink, is purple and the large ribbon around her waist, normally red, is indigo with green trims. Lower down, she wears blue high-heeled shoes adorned with diamonds, the mature look of the high-heeled shoes looking out of place with her childish physical body. However, just because she has the body of a child, or to be more specific, something along the ages ten to eleven years old, does not really restrain her femininity, as demonstrated by her face, which shows childish cuteness, youthful beauty and mature allure and even a certain seductiveness all at once, arming her with looks to charm humans and youkai of any age.

Remilia Scarlet raises her eyebrows as her mouth curves up into a grin. "So you know me, eh? Not surprising, but that's good" she says, then, cradling her chin between her two hands, she asks "why are you hiding behind that statue of a person? I take it that those nonsense the fairies say about me have scared you, haven't they?"

Realizing that she's having a conversation (sort of…) while standing behind Sayu, who either is ignoring the little vampire or not noticing her at all, Kotori sheepishly tip-toes to the left of the pink-haired human, shifts her gaze to Remilia, and then nods. She just had to agree on that part about the gossip scaring her. In fact, she always loses sleep the first few nights after hearing about Gensokyo's most powerful for the first time, and Remilia Scarlet is one of those. Heck, she even expected the vampire to speak in a vampiric lisp and with a slightly rougher tone. Gossip really describes gold as mould.

Finally, Sayu gasps as she says "Oh look, Kotori, a vampire!"

An awkward silence fills the foyer as Kotori and Remilia look at each other, at Sayu, back at each other, and as if knowing each other's thoughts, shrug, then face-palm at the same time, though Remilia also has a small vein on her forehead.

"Argh, anyway, why di-", the vampire starts, groaning, but is interrupted yet again when Sayu adds to her previous statement, "Oh, and look, an aristocrat as well. Nice, I like aristocrat vampires over those wandering brutes…"

Remilia stomps the floor in frustration, nearly shouting "Hey, **stop. Interrupting.** **Me!** Will you, human?"

"Hmm? Didst thou ask me something?" asks Sayu with a whimsical tone.

The vampire grunts, but still manages to say, though with a slight bitterness in her tone. "As I asked before you interrupted me, why did you come inside me glorious mansion, hmm?"

Sayu pulls out the small black leather book and presents it to Remilia. She has read it a while ago while flying here, and it seems like its pages are parchment and not paper… quite old fashioned, but somehow, it fits the book. The contents of the book were interesting, and Sayu certainly learned some good magic from them, but…

Remilia's eyes suddenly widened at the sight of the book, which Sayu now holds with two fingers to the left of her face. The vampire takes a step back, but immediately recovers and regains the ground she lost. Kotori, seeing her reaction, wonders, _'What is with this book that even the mighty Remilia Scarlet…'_

"A certain Alice Margatroid told me to give this to a certain Patchouli Knowledge, whom I wish to inquire." says Sayu calmly, her face unchanged. This puzzles Kotori, who supposes that Sayu didn't see the reaction of one of Gensokyo's most charismatic beings.

Remilia Scarlet ponders for a bit, and then her mouth curves up into a mischievous smile. "Oh, I'll have you escorted to Patchy, but only if you defeat me in a one-on-one duel. What do you think? Here, in this foyer?"

Sayu closes her eyes and then says "M'hmm~ Yes~", while secretly pocketing the book.

Hearing her companion's decision, Kotori gasps with shock and takes a step back, screaming in her mind, but lacking the guts to actually say it. _'Bad choice, bad choice, bad choice, please back out, PLEASE BACK OUT!'_

The strange human casually fans herself as she says "How many spell cards? I only have three."

Kotori stands still, her shock paralysing her_. 'Oh to you gods out there, please, is she really going through with this? Danger, danger, DANGER!'_

Remilia clears her throat, holds a single black-and-red card up and then says, "One spell card each. The first to corner the other completely wins."

Sayu smiles lightly at that and as she shoots several sphere danmaku, says "I hope you are ready for a quick defeat."

The human's projectiles were pure violet with scarlet outlines. After Remilia evades these by jumping into the air, she says, "Let's see about that!" and right after she finishes, she shoots four small spear-like projectiles straight at Sayu, who unsheathes Yukizakura and then slashes three of the spheres and evades the fourth, which was aimed at her right shoulder by leaping to her left. However, as Sayu evades the remaining spear, it heads straight to Kotori, who was behind Sayu. Seeing the dangerous spear heading straight to her, Kotori jumps and then rolls to her right, narrowly evading the sphere which was absorbed by the spell circle on the ground just as she did, making said spell circle glow brighter and spin faster for a moment.

After recovering, Kotori dashes behind one of the stairways and thinks, 'that was close.' While Remilia says haughtily, "My, not bad, not bad for a human… now, let the fun begin!" and at that, she fires several lasers straight at Sayu while firing two waves of scarlet danmaku, one ring rotating counter-clockwise and the other, clockwise.

Sayu elegantly spins to her left, evading the lasers, one of which grazes her sword as she stops spinning and starts weaving through the simple barrage while firing her own purple danmaku with a very ridiculous spread. Because of the spread, however, she did manage to hit Remilia without really aiming, and with every bullet the strange human hits her with, the more the vampire intensifies her attack, adding large homing bubble danmaku into her barrages along with two faster waves, making four waves in total.

The foyer's spell circle glows even brighter as it absorbs stray danmaku, preventing damage to the mansion as Remilia's danmaku gets harder and harder to evade. Thankfully, the stairs where Kotori was hiding has a small empty space underneath, and that is where the little youkai hides, perfectly safe. Due to her location, she couldn't see the actual battle, but judging by how bright the room has become, she could see that the battle is playing out quite fiercely.

Despite the apparent difficulty of Remilia's pattern, Sayu seems unconcerned and merely giggles (albeit eerily) as she gracefully weaves her way around the mass of scarlet bullets, still firing a steady stream of purple bullets. Something catches her attention and she immediately looks to her right, where she notices an approaching bullet wall too dense for her to go through she looks left, and the danmaku there is impassable too; same with the in front, above and below her. As the danmaku near her, she spins Yukizakura, creating a pseudo-shield that returns those it hits back to Remilia, who was apparently not expecting to be hit by her own bullets and fails to evade them.

Being hit by her own danmaku in a battle against a human that isn't a witch or a miko shocked Remilia slightly, making her clear her own danmaku and Sayu, seeing the opportunity, focuses her spread-fire attack, turning it from an open fan-shape and into a bright, laser-like purple beam aimed straight at Remilia, who screams as the bullets burn her. After a few seconds, the vampire manages to fly out of Sayu's attack, which was quite difficult due to the bullets somehow having a paralysing effect.

"Argh! darn it, that was plenty painful, you insolent human!" Remilia screams as she holds her torso, which was unusually undamaged despite of the massive punishment it had a while ago and, reaching into a pocket in her dress, she pulls out a red card and declares, "My one and only card for this fight! **Midnight King, Dracula Cradle!**"

As she finishes declaring her spell, Remilia gets enveloped in a scarlet aura like the one back in her fight with Sintaku and then flies forward, hoping to ram Sayu, who, to her dismay, suddenly ducks down and says "Oh~ what a nice spell circle~ Ingenious, it absorbs damage to the structure, it seems…". Remilia, having already set her angle and launched, now has her target too low for her to hit and instead, she's on a crash-course with the wall, and she's too late to turn or slow down. Just before she hits the wall, she manages to say, "Oh crap…"

**CRASSSCCHH~!**

The loud noise of Remilia crashing against the wall uncontrollably startles Sayu, who jumps up and hovers, unwittingly evading the danmaku that Remilia left behind and are now hitting where she was. The human yawns lightly, begins to descend, and that was when Remilia shoots out from the rubble of the wall she hit, covered in her aura, ready to tackle Sayu, and also, that was when Sayu's flight suddenly malfunctions again.

Remilia's eyes turn wide as Sayu suddenly shoots down and crashes into the floor. Left once again without a target and once again only a metre from a surface –the roof in this case-, Remilia face-palms and groans, "Why does this happen to me?"

**CRASSSCCHH~!**

The loud noise of Remilia connecting with the roof once again startles Sayu, who has risen from the small crater on the floor with no damage, even to her clothes. Wondering what that was, the strange human looks up and sees a cloud of smoke, which parts to reveal one enraged Remilia ready for another tackle, and her rage is so evident that her face is completely twisted and her claws bared.

As the vampire speeds downwards, Sayu casually pulls out a spell-card and declares **"Taboo: Laevetein!" **and, as she does, Yukizakura turns into a massive energy-beam sword that she immediately swings at Remilia, trailing danmaku each time she does.

Remilia, hearing the human's declaration and seeing her slender sword transform into her younger-sister's weapon of demolition, grimaces and, as she starts evading the ever-destructive and familiar sword and its trailing danmaku, thinks "_Damn! She read the book! Damn, Damn, DAMN!"_

After a while of evading the bullets, she tries to calm down and thinks_ "Alright, I already know how to avoid this spell. It's dangerous, but as I remember it from Flandre, the pattern is easy enough to grasp…" _and as she does so, she starts making feints, charging forward in one direction and then suddenly dashing to the other.

Problem is, _Sayu isn't Flandre…_

Remilia fails to notice this until Sayu suddenly makes a slight change in her attack, having observed Remilia's own evasive patterns, something Flandre doesn't do in her innocence and, as Remilia dashes to the right, Sayu suddenly moves her beam-sword towards the Remilia, catching the vampire by surprise and, at her speed and at the close distance between her and the beam, she fails to stop in time and she is caught inside the burning beam.

Another problem: Sayu had to hover for the spell and suddenly, the human's flight malfunctions once again (what is with her flight?), sending her straight upwards towards Remilia and breaking her spell as she connects with the vampire at her high speed, sending said vampire crashing into the roof.

The two combatants drop to the ground at the same time, Remilia unconscious, her eyes spinning. Sayu, on the other hand, regains her footing quite quickly and, pulling out the spell card she used a while ago, she tilts her head to the side and then says "Hmm… a boring spell…", she trails off, a faraway look in her eyes as she absorbs its magic, and as the card turns to dust and in effect, erased, she yawns and, as if oblivious to her battle and victory, she rubs her stomach with her left hand as she moans, "I'm so~ Hung~ry~!", and that is when she notices the unconscious Remilia in front of her.

Sayu bends over, stares at Remilia and then, with a quizzical look on her face, asks "Can I eat thee?"

As soon as the strange human says those words, Remilia returns to her senses, jumps to the second floor and, hiding behind a supporting column, shouts "Uwaah~ Sakuya! The human wants to eat me~! Welp!"

The silver-haired maid instantaneously appears in front of Remilia with a serious look on her face. However, as soon as she sees Remilia, with her teary, puppy eyes and terrified expression, she suddenly puts on a goofy face and as a steady stream of blood bursts from her noses, she walks towards her mistress with hands forward, twitching in a groping motion. Remilia gets even more terrified and she dashes off, crying "Patchy~! There's a perverted maid and a vampirovorous creature out here!"

The sound of a door being opened and closed quickly fills the room and as soon as the vampire is gone, Sakuya returns to her senses and notices the two on the first floor of the foyer, staring at the spell circle. Stopping time, she briskly runs down the stairs and once she's in front of the two visitors, releases time.

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><p>Sayu and Kotori perk up at the sudden popping sound that came from right in front of them and then notice the white-haired maid that seemed to suddenly pop out of nowhere. Kotori blinks several times as her brain processes the input. Sayu, on the other hand, once again opens her fan in front of her mouth and, after a few seconds of silence, she suddenly says "My, Kotori. A maid appeared from out of nowhere."<p>

Stumped as her mind fails to find a match for a teleporting maid, Kotori mindlessly answers, "Yes, Eru-sama."

There is a slight pause before Sakuya clears her throat and says "Visitors to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Can you please state your purpose? I've never seen you before and I am sure that this could not be a social visit."

Behind her fan, Sayu suddenly breaks into a grin as she says "My, a formal person, Kotori."

The little youkai sighs and says "Yes, Eru-sama."

Behind her formal façade, Sakuya sweatdrops as she sees the two interact. The pink-haired one, who must be called Eru, seems to love stating the obvious. She also notes that the name appears strange… _'What is with these two? What a strange bunch…'_

Sayu giggles and then says "I like formal people…"

Without thinking, Kotori replies, "Yes, Eru-sama."

Sayu turns to Sakuya and, after a moment, asks "What was thy question again, miss…?"

"Izayoi." The silver-haired maid says with a bow. "Sakuya Izayoi. And, I merely asked for your reason for visiting the mansion."

Sayu gasps and says "Oh dear me,", and, rummaging into her pockets and pulling out the book, which she presents to Sakuya, saying, "A certain Alice Margatroid had me return this book to a certain Miss Knowledge, who I would also wish to enquire on a certain matter."

Sakuya didn't react the way Meiling and Remilia did, though it can be seen in her eyes that she's also shocked at the sight of the book, as much as the others. She just did a better job at hiding her surprise, which is not surprising, considering that as the "perfect and elegant" maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, she is to exude an air of grace and formality all the time. Despite that however, when she opens her mouth, her voice ends up creaky. "R-right… I-I'l export you to P-Patchouli's library s-soon… Mistress Remilia was playing her games with you, h-huh?"

Sayu nods lightly and follows Sakuya as the maid goes off to lead Sayu to Patchouli, Kotori trailing the strange human.

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><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

"…And a one, and a two, and a- Oh scrap, Heave ho~" called a girl's voice, followed soon after by a creaky sound of something heavy being moved and the earth grinding on the ground.

A beam is slowly erected until it becomes perfectly vertical. As it does, it is revealed that the person who lifted the beam was none other than… Shameimaru Aya!

The tengu reporter groans, stretches her back and grumbles, "Hey, Oni Miko. Help me here, will ya? O-oh, and the other tengu will have your butt for having me do such menial labour!"

"No way, besides, I already went and received permission from your Lord Tenma."

The tengu girl grumbles once more as she starts heaving another beam into place. The beams are heavy, and that is a fact proven by the evident difficulty the tengu is having in lifting them, despite their greater-than-normal physical strength.

A few minutes ago, the very same tengu now repairing the shrine, Shameimaru Aya, broke it down when she suddenly came hurtling out of nowhere and knocked down most of the shrine's support beams when she landed on it. The result would be no less than spectacular: the entire shrine collapsed from the inside with an epic explosion comparable to a miniature nuclear bomb.

Currently, the shrine is no more than a mass of broken, splintered wood, along with some leaning posts. Surprisingly, even though a large wooden post fell on top of the donation box, the trusty wooden piece of furniture did not get as much as a dent. Enough of that though…

"Yare yare da ze~", Sighs our favourite black-and-white witch, Marisa Kirisame, as she takes in the destruction in front of her while slowly shaking her head. "Seems like after thirteen years, your shrine finally falls again…"

Near the torii gate, beside Marisa, Reimu Hakurei face-palms and groans "Don't remind me of that time…"

Marisa chuckles as she playfully tells Reimu "And I never thought you could curse that loud. I swear, my eardrums are dead!" earning her a death glare from the red-and-white.

_"Bitch bitch Shameimaru bitch bitch bi-bitch bitch~"_, comes synchronised chanting from the Human Village. Hearing this, the monochrome witch chuckles, flips her left thumb towards the west, then says "And the guys over there agree with you"

However, Reimu's reaction to the chanting is a little bit less than amused. The shrine maiden turns to stare at the loud, loud village with a deathly grimace. "Oh no…"

"Ha!" Marisa laughs out loud and, patting Reimu's back, she says, "You brought colour into their lives, ze!"

The miko turns into stone as she mumbles "I'm…dead…"

"Auu~" sighs Marisa as she takes a sip from her…err, Reimu's cup of tea. "I find your lack of faith disturbing. Don't worry about it."

Reimu limps and she groans, "Ah yeah… lack of faith… now this shrine will get even less faith… and money."

"OI! Some help over here~! You're just lazing over the- oof!" screams the crow tengu before a pillar she was trying to erect suddenly slipped and nearly collapsed on top of her.

"No~ way~!" shouts back Reimu as she returns to sitting normally and glaring at the destruction. "Those pillars were put there by Tenshi, and God knows how much they weigh!"

Another pillar slips and knocks down Aya, who lifts her hand from the rubble and says "I know how much they weigh~!"

Behind Reimu, clutching a white teapot after having poured some tea into her cup, Meibilin looks at the Hakurei with a questioning look, saying "Miss Reimu, I think we she should help her", and, her eyes darting over with a worried look to the tengu, who is trying once again to lift a downed God-knows-how-heavy pillar, she adds "She's clearly having a hard time and staying idle won't get the shrine up faster."

The red-and-white pats Meibilin's back and says, "Nada. She knocked down the shrine, she fixes it. Now, Relaaax and enjoooy the show. "

Meibilin feels a tug in her heart for the poor tengu girl as she keeps on lifting those pillars, and as a third one falls over, the temporary shrine maiden starts fidgeting "B... but miss Reimu… she was sent flying all the way here. She did not willingly destroy the shrine, and at least, can I assist her?"

Reimu Hakurei, along with Marisa Kirisame, turns around to glance at Meibilin, blinking in disbelief.

"You know Meibilin, you're too kind, ze~" says Marisa, followed shortly after by Reimu, who says "I agree with Marisa… but if you wish to assist her, then I won't stop you… oh, and that two-string Shamisen you bought? You got cheated. Shamisen have three strings.", and, as the temporary shrine maiden's face turns up in the beginnings of a wa-tear-fall, Reimu quickly adds, "D-don't worry! I'll buy you the third string when I buy the replacement supplies, don't fret, really!"

The temporary shrine maiden maintains her face, but then her expression slowly lightens and she beams and lets out a cute "Yay!" holding her hands in front of her and, bowing to Reimu, says "Many thanks, Reimu-sama!"

Three dull thuds reach Meibilin's ear, and when she looks up, she gasps at the sight of Reimu, Marisa and Aya sprawled on the ground surrounded by pools of their own blood, the shrine maiden and the witch having spilled the hot tea on themselves and the tengu having a pillar fall on her bosom, but none of the three seem to mind.

The cute temporary shrine maiden puts her hands to her mouth and worriedly asks "Reimu-sama! Marisa-san! Aya-san! Are you alright?"

The three simultaneously raise their hands and say "I'm alright~"

* * *

><p><strong>Human Village<strong>_, a while ago…_

**_SHAMEIMARUUUU YOUUUU BIIIIITCCCHHHH!_**

Reimu's enraged scream blasts through the village so loud that one would think that there is some sort of giant speaker right nearby. Anyways, as soon as the colourful sound reaches their ears, the inhabitants of the Human Village stop doing their tasks to glare angrily towards the east, at the Hakurei Shrine where a massive cloud of dust takes the place of the quiet… or maybe not so quiet worn-down shrine.

At the same time, at the village square, where the village's children gather during their school's midday break, the children start giggling and repeating the colour they have just heard. "Bitch bitch, Shameimaru bitch bitch bi-bitch bitch~", their chanting echoes throughout the place, driving the parents that were nearby into tears.

Meanwhile, numerous toddlers normally before the speaking age, rocking inside their cribs inside their houses and oh so innocent, giggle and finally speak their first word in unison. The word? Bitch.

After a few seconds, the shocked adults return to their senses and pointing their middle fingers at the Hakurei Shrine, they shout angrily at almost the same time. "BITCH!"

The children at the square, seeing them, laugh and, while making the vulgar gesture towards the sky, they continue chanting, "Bitch bitch Shameimaru bitch bitch bi-bitch bitch~"

The parents this time are too shocked to even cry and just stare blankly at their children doing and saying all those colourful actions and words.

* * *

><p><strong>Voile the Magic Library<strong>

Here we again, back at the incomprehensibly enormous library of Patchouli, Gensokyo's second know-it-all (why second? Well, there's someone else…), and our purple magician is sitting on her study table, which would be located at the exact centre of the library, reading a book titled "Advanced Light Play Magicks: Creating Giant Energy Beams by G.M."

She stops for a while, grins and then starts chuckling ominously, "With this… with this… I'll give that thieving rat a taste of her own medicine! Uhahahaha-kah!", only to be interrupted when she suddenly breaks into a coughing fit. After a few seconds, she recovers and returns to reading the book with enough concentration to set it alight.

"Hmm… making a stun beam… hmm… nah… making a Master Spark with a catalyst, hmm… no, but getting there…", the magician skims furiously through the pages, then a certain page catches her eye. "Ah, here it is: making a Master Spark without catalysts. Ufufu… you just wait, Marisa…"

Just as the bookworm starts reading on the complex depictions of the spell circles to be overlaid and the type of energy flow to utilise, the doors to her library open and she is interrupted as she feels three presences, one of them very familiar, another weak and the other… strong_- very, very strong. 'Could it be that chronicler with an escort?'_ she wonders before dismissing the idea. _'No, this does not feel like her… and she can fend for herself just fine…'_

"Sakuya!" the living library calls out to her best friend's maid, the room carrying her voice well despite of the numerous books blocking the way. "I know that you're here. Who're these two you brought with you?"

"Patchouli-sama! I've bought a human and her youkai companion. That Alice person had the human return to you a book: One of those stolen by Marisa in her recent raids." Coolly replies Sakuya. "They also wish to ask you something, it seems."

"Lead them to me.", Shouts back Patchouli, followed a few seconds later by Sakuya's "Will do, Patchouli-sama."

After a minute or so, the silver-haired maid emerges from behind a bookshelf, Sayu following closely with (apparently) closed eyes and her black fan covering her mouth, which is curved up into an amused smile. Beside the human, Kotori keeps on looking around her in wonder, occasionally commenting on the sheer amount of books present. "Ooh~ wow! Look at those books! It must take a human five lives just to read an entire bookshelf… oh look over there! Magic Spells for Easier Living by the great M!", and then, after a short pause, wonders out loud  
>I wonder who she is…?"<p>

* * *

><p>The purple haired magician puts down her book gently and then twists her body to look at her visitors ten or so metres away. In addition to Sakuya, there seems to be a person with pink hair, and she could tell that she's a human from her aura though that is debatable, since humans -even ones as powerful as the Hakurei miko- are supposed to be unable to deal with such volatile, unstable energy as she senses from this person. <em>'Heck, it's even more volatile than the little sister's'<em> she notes. She trails her gaze off towards the excited youkai beside the human… youkai, no doubt about that. There are weak youkai, and this one seems to be yet another one of those; nothing new or interesting at all.

Patchouli pushes the chair back softly and then slowly hovers to her guests with a blank look on her face.

* * *

><p>The young youkai, Kotori, jumps from bookshelf to bookshelf, her face metaphorically shining with excitement as she reads aloud the titles of random books. Of all these in particular catches her eye, but just as she focuses on the title, a cold, emotionless voice says "Don't you touch any of my books without my permission or I will have you fried in an instant.", shocking Kotori, who knows that the threat was more or less directed to her.<p>

The young youkai twists to look at the speaker, a magician in purple floating half a foot above ground: Patchouli Knowledge, the librarian of voile and Gensokyo's greatest bookworm.

Kotori regroups with Sayu and once at her Sayu's side, says glumly "I'm sorry, Miss Patchouli Knowledge."

The book's title, 'Aoi kaze; mastering the art of wind magic book four.' appears to be very interesting, notes Kotori; Too bad that she can't read it. Still, it's not her book, so it's not her place to complain and Kotori simply stays silent, trying to kill off her curiosity on that certain book, but her mind either is very stubborn or there's something in that book, which is unlikely, that just holds her attention and prevents her from ignoring it.

The purple magician raises her eyebrows, noticing the little youkai's unease, but pays it no mind.

"So, I take it that you have something for me… hmmm?" Patchouli says, addressing the pink-haired human beside Sakuya with a cold, unfriendly tone. "What would it be?"

Sayu stares straight into Patchouli's eyes for a long while. This does not affect the purple-haired magician, however, and she merely stares back. They stay like this for a few seconds before Sayu suddenly backs up and exclaims "Oh! I forgot!"

The pink-haired human presents the book, resting on her open palms, to the purple magician who, steps back slightly as she sees the book's name, but does not seem to react as acutely as any of the previous people she presented it to. That is, until Patchouli's eyes rest on a particular portion of the book where, engraved into the black leather cover of the book, is a very intricate spell-circle that appears to lack half of itself at its centre.

When Patchouli notices that damage to the spell circle, her eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets and she starts stammering while holding a hand over her heart. "The seal… It's… It's broken, but how…?", she mumbles quite quickly for an asthmatic person. And then, her voice taking more ominous tone, she adds, "The book's been opened."

"Oh, I opened it!" says Sayu quite cheerfully with a sweet tone, either oblivious to the dark, apocalyptic mood the book seems to bring to those who see it, or knows it, but pays it no mind. "The spells in there are quite interesting, but I already know spells as strong as those inside it."

"Sakuya, you are dismissed" The purple magician tells the white-haired maid, who curtsies and disappears with a slight popping sound. As soon as the maid is gone, she turns to the pink-haired human and says, much more calmly than before, but still with her ominous tone, "I…It's forbidden to know any of the spells in this book unless you're the original creator of the spell."

"Hmm?" hums Sayu with an amused tone. As to why she's amused, God knows why. "My, my~ I already read half of it. What do you suggest I do?" the pink-haired human says with a playful tone.

Patchouli's eyebrows furrow into a frown as she says "I…" trailing off as she tries to work out a solution. After a few seconds, her frown fades and, as her usual poker face returns, she finishes her sentence. "You have read something not supposed to be read… therefore I conclude that you must… die with the knowledge you have obtained."

"Is that so~?" asks Sayu with a sing-song, playful tone, possibly not realizing the seriousness in the Magician's words.

"That is so! Five Cards, I win when you die!" replies Patchouli while throwing several fireballs at Sayu, who somehow dodges those by mere inches of her clothes. When the barrage is over, Sayu, unharmed, says…still with her playful tone, "A-ah~ that was rude! The host should allow the guest to take the first move~"

The pink-haired human giggles as several black butterflies appear out of thin air and home in to Patchouli, who swings side to side to evade the very predictable pattern.

Or so she thought.

The butterflies start moving in a double-helix beam pattern that catches the librarian off-guard, hitting her at the back and at the left side several times.

"Argh!" groans Patchouli as she touches the physically-fine, but very sore spots where several of the black butterfly-shaped danmaku hit her. Apparently, they focus more on psychological pain and exhaustion, rather than actually doing physical damage. "Darned b1tch", she cusses under her breath as she prepares to retaliate.

* * *

><p>A fight started all of a sudden<p>

The magician seemed to be agitated to know that the book… whatever it is, is opened, and Sayu's replies didn't seem to help. On the contrary, It seems like her words provoked the magician to attack instead, and a fight it is, and as before, Kotori's instinct tells her to duck behind whatever is convenient to use as a barrier between her and the two combatants: In this case, one of the numerous giant bookshelves.

"Uuu…." Groans Kotori as she takes a peek around the bookshelf at the fight, only to have one of the magician's fireball miss her face by inches. "Gyah!" she exclaims as she hurriedly withdraws her head into the safe zone. "That was close…"

Then, as she starts looking around, she notices that the book she was curious about earlier, "Aoi Kaze", was right beside her. **"She won't know a thing, right?"**

* * *

><p>Patchouli coughs just as she barely evades several waves of those black butterflies and, after recovering, declares "Fire Metal Sign: Saint Elmo's fire!"<p>

Flames rapidly gather above Patchouli and, when large enough, the asthmatic librarian throws it down on Sayu, the fireballs devouring the butterflies in its way.

Meanwhile, as the fireball approaches, instead of evading it, Sayu unsheathes her sword and cuts the fireball in half… almost.

The blade slices through the fireball, but the pink-haired human swung it a bit too soon and the half of the fireball not cut by the sword hits her in the chest and a massive explosion occurs, throwing dust everywhere as the force of the blast pushes Sayu against the ground.

Patchouli looks down with uncaring eyes at the place where the human was hit. However, when the smoke clears, Sayu is no longer there. Following her instinct, Patchouli turns around and activates a shield. Sure enough, Sayu is right behind her and luckily, Patchouli erected the barrier fast enough to block her… nonexistent swing.

_It was an illusion._

However, when she realizes this, Sayu, the real one, has sliced her back with Agakara, her Karis. Thankfully, since it is a spell card duel they are having, the slash does not draw blood or create a physical wound. However, the pain is still there and the librarian doubles over at the sharp, stinging pain coursing through her back.

That was unexpected. Given how clueless and stupid she acted earlier, along with her unstable powers, she expected the pink-haired human to use either simple, but dense and fast danmaku like that of the younger sister or just… simple danmaku like that of the stupid fairy who loves to hang out near the mansion. However, the human has proved her wrong twice already and she seems to be more cunning than the looks… or acts.

The asthmatic librarian slowly regains her footing and, somehow glaring at Sayu while keeping her poker face, she declares: "Love Sign: Master Spark!"

As soon as she declares the spell, Patchouli holds her palms outwards towards Sayu and along with an electronic buzzing sound, a… very pathetic excuse of a Master Spark the diameter of water from a water gun bursts from between her palms.

Sayu's eyes narrow in amusement as she stabs her sword to the ground and twists it so that the wide end of its blade gets to meet the pathetic laser at a twenty-degree angle to the right, and as is expected when light and shiny metal meet, the laser bounces off and hits a bookshelf or rather, the magical spell of the bookshelf to her right.

Patchouli clenches and unclenches her fists as she looks at them pitifully. "I guess I need to study the spell some more…", she says with a sigh.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the small clearing in the forest of bookshelves, Sayu pulls out a her other sword along with a card and declares; "Oh my~! Sword: Confusion!"

Sayu's figure starts fizzing and, after a few seconds, ten clones of her, identical to her real self emerge and start shuffling places with the Sayu and each other and as they do so, they all create danmaku that are soon cut by either the other clones or the real Sayu, who is impossible to single out from the crowd of her clones.

Patchouli starts evading the bullets as soon as they near her. However, she seems to be having great difficulty due to the sheer amount of danmaku and it did not take long until she gets hit… and gets no damage.

_Another one of the human's phantom tricks._

_'Illusion bullets… if that's the case, then at least half of all these bullets are fakes. Still… I must be careful. I can't differentiate between the real and the phonies.' _Patchouli comments as she swings to the right to avoid several bullets that came from her right and front sides. However, she did not notice a bullet flying in a slightly different, curved trajectory coming from somewhere to her right and she gets hit right on her right shoulder, a real projectile this time.

Patchouli jumps back in surprise, but shakes her shock off and starts shooting at Sayu and her clones with her left hand while she waits for her arm to recover.

The purple-haired magician makes a lucky hit and finds the real Sayu when one of the supposed clones she hit reacted to the pain brought by a fireball to the knee and starts focusing her attacks on that particular target. The librarian gets hit several times by the sphere-shaped bullets, but shrugs the pain off and keeps on pushing her attack. Finally, Sayu's spell breaks and the pink-haired human collapses.

"That's it, huh? Pathetic." Patchouli says as she looks down on the human's prone figure. "Time to finish this… Sun Sign: Royal Flare!"

Patchouli raises her hands above her head and a bright point of light appears between them. Sayu stirs, but this escapes Patchouli's attention and in a few seconds, it grows so bright and large that it might as well be a miniature sun… and in a way, it is.

The spell creates so much light it even illuminates the other side of the normally very dark library. Then, after a few moments of burning heat, it fades.

The books and the shelves were unharmed by the intense heat due to a powerful shielding spell that Patchouli erected on each and every one of them. However, the marble floor, without any protection whatsoever, is totally blackened.

Amidst the blackened ground, Sayu stands unharmed, surrounded by a violet shield crackling with scarlet bolts of energy and holding her opened black fan over her mouth, which is curled up in an amused grin.

_The reason for the fact of her lack of even just the slightest burn is because right after the spell activated, Sayu hurriedly put up a shield around her and while the searing heat burned the floor around her, she slowly got up and waited for the spell to end._

"Well, that's expected." Patchouli says in a blank tone just before Sayu declares "Countless Clouds: Rain Rain Come Again!"

_'That's to be expected as well… wait, did she say Yakumo?'*_

Sayu spreads her arms to the side, making a pose that resembles a cross or the character [十] somewhat. However, no danmaku come flying out from her as Patchouli expected, but instead, purple bullets fall from the air above the two like rain.

Patchouli evades the dense, but simple pattern with ease. However, the danmaku that hit the floor rebound, something she did not expect and by the time she notices it, Patchouli gets hit twice in the back, four times at her waist and once in the face. However, just as another sphere nears her face, she remembers something and the obviousness of it makes her want to facepalm. Oh wait, she did and, as she does a facepalm, she erects a purple barrier that absorbs the danmaku nearest to her.

Patchouli spends the next thirty or so seconds waiting for the spell to time out, all the while supporting her shield and not attacking to give it more durability, as well as evading the danmaku to lessen the strain on her trusty barrier.

As soon as the spell breaks, Patchouli breaks her shield to prepare an attack… but at the same time, Sayu declares her third spell. "Sword: Extremespeed" and, before she knows it, Patchouli gets slashed twice at high speed and doubles over from the pain. However, Sayu, her spell finished, does not give her a break and slashes twice –this time, with normal slashes-, knocking out the purple-haired magician.

* * *

><p><strong>Human Village<strong>

Reimu Hakurei could feel the bad vibes coming from the villagers. In the background, she hears some children singing "Bitch~ Bitch~ Dog Bitch~ Bitch~ Mommy Bitch~ Bitch Daddy Bitch~ Daddy's the best Bitch in all Gensokyo~ Mommy's the be…"

She knows it's her fault that these children learned those vulgar words all of a sudden and each of the hateful glares coming from the villagers feel like burning nails in her heart and conscience.

"Well, if isn't it little Miss Potty Mouth" says the owner of a store selling strings and threads as the red-and-white nears. "Do you really think that I'll sell anything to you, given what you did to the children?"

Our favourite cute, but dirty-mouthed miko sighs and says "Scrap it. I'm here to buy three packs each of thick, medium and thin water-thread and silk Shamisen strings. They're not for me, so at least do me this favour and just give me some. I'll pay you twice."

The owner, a male outsider around 60-years or something, wearing a blue kimono and has a thin beard with a kindly wrinkled face set in a frown at our beautiful miko, sighs and, after a few seconds of thinking and stroking his beard, says "Is dis for dat kindly lassie who was fooled into buying an incomplete Cat-skin Sanxian by ol' haggler?."

Reimu readies her cash and answers, "If you mean Meibilin and her Shamisen, then yes. She bought to the shrine a Tsugarujamisen lacking the bass string and its itomaki yesterday. "

The man strokes his beard once more, humming under his breath and, after a while, says "Alright, give me dem moneys. One-hundred-oh-two yuan."

The red-and-white complies, putting two hundred yen on the table* as the owner digs around the table's numerous shelves. After a few seconds, he puts on the table six bundles of strings, just as Reimu asked: three silk and three of water-thread… a material brought by outsiders into Gensokyo. Apparently, the person who first brought water-thread (actually nylon) into the Human Village knows how to make them and ever since, luthiers and fishing-supply shops have been selling and creating them with the aid of magic. The transparent threads became an instant hit among the villagers because they last longer and are more durable than silk for one and allow easier fishing for another.

Our favourite lovable shrine maiden bows politely and then leaves with her purchase. As she approaches the food market, she considers buying some snacks, but then quickly dismisses the fact. As the man earlier said, no-one is willing to sell her anything if it's for her and even if she does buy a few yakitori, the owner might be so angry that he or she might spit on it or cook it badly. Not to mention that she won't be able to eat contentedly in such hostile atmosphere.

_'Nah, I'll go home. Meibilin cooks well anyways…'_ she tells herself as she walks to the village's eastern gate, leaving the children still chanting that vile bitch song behind at the square.

* * *

><p>Patchouli lifts a cup of tea from her study table, takes a short, quick sip and then puts the cup back down right beside her folded reading glasses. Settling into her chair, she sighs and takes a moment to fully observe the two people on the other side of the study table in front of her.<p>

The one to her right is the pink-haired human that she fought earlier and, despite the aggression the magician showed earlier, she still seems nonchalant and blithely humming while reading a book that Patchouli let her read on her defeat. To the left side of the magician is the white-haired youkai who seems restless as she reads the book on wind spells; a topic that the librarian has already mastered.

The pink-haired human, despite her victory, gave the book nevertheless to Patchouli, who then noticed something behind a shelf and caught the white-haired youkai reading the book behind it, apparently so engrossed that she did not even notice the librarian's presence until she started tapping impatiently. Patchouli momentarily considered then to actually cook her alive with a solar flare, but upon seeing that the youkai actually handled the book with care, she allowed her to read it anyway. Still, the white-haired youkai could not help but feel uncomfortable, being caught red-handed like that.

Having examined the two thoroughly, Patchouli clears her throat and immediately, the two put down the books and turn to look at the magician… or maybe just the white-haired youkai. It took quite a while before the human finally noticed the impatient rapping of the magician on the desk and put down the book.

"So, you want to ask me something?" the one-week magician asks, addressing the strange, strange human.

"Hmm…." The human mumbles. "Err… what was it again, Kotori?" she asks the young youkai beside her.

Patchouli would have face-palmed if only she was not trying to exude a professional, business-like air and settles for an exasperated sigh instead. _'Great. This one's an idiot.'_

"Ummm…" moans Kotori, pressing her pointers together in unease as she feels the librarian's irritation. "We were going to ask for the location of the underground, weren't we, Eru-sama?"

"Ah! That's right!" Sayu says with enthusiasm. "I desire to ask thee for the directions to the underground, Miss Patchouli"

"Kuh! I'm nearsighted, not deaf!" grunts Patchouli, rubbing her forehead. "You don't have to repeat it."

A few seconds pass between the three, the two visitors sitting contentedly, doing nothing… or was that only Kotori? Sayu well, did not really do anything, but she did flap her fan… as for Patchouli, she just keeps on rubbing her forehead.

After a while, the magician grabs a small scroll and takes her quill from its holder. Then, with the quill just centimetres above the scroll, she glances upwards at Sayu, says "You, Eru-person, you better not lose this map I'm going to make."

…

Girls are drawing…

…

A half-hour later…

…

"Woow! This is SO NEAT!"

"…sou desu ka?"

"Yes, Sayu-sama! It's so well drawn…"

"…sou desu ka?"

"Something seems weird with you, Sayu-sama"

"…sou desu ka?"

"What's your name, Sayu-sama?"

"Sayundobiigafujan Ginsapamatoshin"

"Good. You're awake."

"…sou desu ka?"

Kotori falls over, anime-style… or so she would have if only they were not flying… but then again, this is Gensokyo. There's absolutely NO COMMON SENSE here so, fall over she does… it is just common sense.

Sayu wanted to fly, but her flight is as unstable as usual and not wanting to risk hitting someone in mid-air again, Kotori suggested that she carry Sayu, and so she did, the human holding on to the little youkai in a hug from the back. As common sense says, Sayu would have fallen over with Kotori as well, but then, common sense prevails and the pink-haired human somehow remains floating in the air and for some reason, remains in that same spot until Kotori recovers from having fallen on air (seriously, how does that work?) and carries her companion once again.

The two spend the next hour talking about random things. Things like… 'what should we eat for dinner?' 'what does snail taste like?' 'when is lunch?' 'how much food couldst thou cook for me later'… or maybe it was just Sayu asking Kotori questions- those ALWAYS related to food.

The scenery below them changes rapidly without their notice… not Sayu's anyway, and so far, they have crossed a forest or two, a village, spacious farmlands and now, another forest- the one where the two first met. Yes, that's right! They're over the plains portion of the Youkai Mountain's forest and by now, are very, very close to the blowhole that happened to be the entrance to be the underground. In fact, it is just in sight, clearly visible on the lower edge of the mountain's slope.

At that moment, Kotori realizes something. Not just something, but an important something. "Hey, Sayu-sama, heading to the blowhole -as Patchouli called it- from this angle, it will seem like we're heading towards the mountain itself, not the blowhole. Gods know to what lengths the tengu go to in keeping outsiders out of the mountain."

"…pardon, Kotori? What do you suggest?"

The little youkai sighs and says "I suggest we go down and fly at a lower altitude as to avoid the tengu guard."

Kotori tenses up slightly, hoping that Sayu will actually get it. After all, their safety is of concern….

Sayu tightens her embrace on Kotori somewhat and, after a few seconds, relaxes again, saying in a very playful tone "Hmm…. No."

"Whaaat?" Kotori near-screams, shocked at the human's answer. After all, she could not fly and as sure as hell can't battle against the tengu in mid-air. "Please, Miss Sayu. Be reasonable."

The human's voice is as whimsical and playful as ever as she says. "…no~"

Kotori's voice is slightly rasped and unsure as she asks "Then… do you want to fly at a higher altitude instead?"

"I don't think so~?"

"Think? Uhm… well, what about we fly at the same altitude then, Sayu-sama?"

No answer comes, and that's when she notices that the pressure around her shoulders is gone. Slightly shocked, she turns around and realizes that there's no Sayu on her back. "Sayu-sama? Where are you?"

Her answer comes soon enough, when down below her, the rustling of branches and feet landing on the soft, leafy forest floor reaches her ears, making the little youkai face-palm. "Ugh. When can I actually predict her for once?" Kotori groans just before she descends to join Sayu… provided she survived the fall which, considering the earlier event at the Bamboo Forest, what with her sudden flight abnormality, is very likely.

"She could have just told me that she wanted to walk instead of jumping off without a thought like that…" the little youkai groans some more as she lands right next to Sayu who, does not seem to notice her and as predicted, is unharmed and walking up the mountain lazily.

Kotori starts walking in front of Sayu in a bid to catch her attention, but apparently, the danmaku method is more effective than the passive –look at me- technique that Kotori was using, for the human lazily skips to the side to avoid a small barrage –most likely warning shots- and gazes upwards at the person who sent the attack.

She has a pair of beautiful, but glazed-over turquoise eyes and matching long hair tied into a front ponytail with a red ribbon. As for her outfit, she wears a black vest with matching cross-laces over a white top with puffy sleeves and exaggerated frilly collars, a velvety red silk dress with a green spiral design sewed on to the bottom left of said dress and on her head, a large bow made up of those red ribbons that she also wraps around her arm. Lower down, she wears long, soot-black cross-laced boots with very high heels.

She is Hina Kagiyama, the curse goddess that STEALS your misfortune and seems happy doing it too. However, she also is very much terrified of the idea of humans wandering into the mountain and sees it as her job (secondary, sort of,) to keep them away from the mountain before the tengu see them.

The blowhole is located at the lower slopes of the mountain and as Hina usually stays where the mountain actually becomes a mountain and not just a forested slope, seeing her here, so close to the plains, is something unusual.

"You two! Get the heavens out of here before the tengu take action! They've noticed you flying in the general direction of their village and if you don't run away now, they're going to be really angry." Hina says, her tone hushed but with a sense of concern.

"Hmm? Pardon?" hums Sayu as she opens her black fan and covers her mouth with it.

Kotori is a little bit more timid. Being a former resident of the mountain's slopes, she knows the true strength of the curse goddess, and it's not that she's too powerful, but because she can not only absorb curses, she can also implant them in others. The little youkai knows that Hina really does not want to curse others, but she has seen an occasion or two when she really did so, and the result… was not beautiful.

"I… err, miss curse goddess, We're not really going to the mountain… we intend to go into the underground, and if what I remember is right, the entrance to it is on the lower slopes. B-besides, I was a long-time resident of this forest until a week or so ago."

Hina does not seem convinced at Kotori's claim of being a resident and asks "Is that really so? Please state proofs and tell me your identities."

It is Sayu who, in a blank tone, answers. "Thou needest not our identifications."

The curse goddess sweatdrops at the human's not-so sensible statement. "Err…why so?"

The human ignores the curse goddess and continues, "Thou wilt let us though."

Hina face-palms and falls over, recovers, then, holding a disbelieving look and sweatdropping, asks, "What makes you think I'll let you through just like that?" then, after a short pause, she adds, "And why are you speaking in that freaky old accent? Seriously, not even deities nowadays speak or remember to speak that way anymore."

A few seconds of silence pass before Sayu answers both questions with one answer. "I don't know."

A few more seconds of awkward silence passes by before Sayu asks "So, can we go through?"

Hina crosses her arms and says "No. It's way too dangerous here, especially with the tengu being alarmed by the apparent approach of trespassers heading not just to the mountain, but exactly towards the direction of the tengu village. The fact that you dove down here did not help either."

"H-how did you know this?" asks one shocked Kotori. "It was just recently that we-"

"The tengu have superior eyesight", Hina cuts in. "They saw you two flying towards the mountain before I could even see you. The scouts that chattered about it were not so silent either. As for your diving down into the forest, I've seen events like this before and having intruders going under the cover of the forest does not sit well with them."

"Oh… but-"

"No buts!" says Hina with a raised, commanding voice. "Leave immediately or e- ….WHA?"

What happened was not something that the curse goddess expected and immediately, she was shot down by the purple danmaku of Sayu, who attacked without warning and, as the curse goddess eats dirt, she playfully says, "You know what's going to happen if you don't let us through, right?"

"Ugh…It was like this last time…" Groans Hina as she lifts herself off the ground as Sayu declares "No spell cards. We're going to FORCE our way through~"

At that last word, a large spell circle appears behind Sayu and starts shooting swarms of random danmaku at Hina, who dodges each and every one with some, though not too much difficulty.

Sayu stops her barrage for a moment and Hina takes this chance to spin and fire her own barrage; a net of paired danmaku that split up while moving in circular trajectories.

Before the first bullet gets within two metres around Sayu, the human points the tip of her sword at the curse goddess and a medium-large purple laser beam flies out of its tip and sends Hina flying back just in time for a white wolf tengu with a large sword to appear and get thrown back as well.

Kotori is shocked speechless and could not move a muscle even as Sayu grabs her wrist and runs towards the blowhole.

By the time the little youkai realizes what just happened, the human has the two of them sitting down on a relatively wind-free part of the cave; a small cave within the larger cave.

Before Kotori could ask her companion a thing, Sayu pulls out a futon from her dress (…seriously?), lies down on it and… within a second, the strange human is deep asleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine [17:00]<strong>

"My unending gratitude to thee, lady Reimu!" Meibilin says as she bows in front of Reimu, her now-complete Shamisen safely packed beside her. Come to think of it, it's already the eightieth time she said that today.

Reimu, of course, is delighted and can't stop grinning every time the temporary miko says that and always hugs Meibilin every time, though it's partly to hide the gentle trickle of blood from her nose. Well, that… and her goofy face.

Of course, Marisa notices this and continually shoves it Reimu's face, only to taste the delicious flavour of gohei… every time. Still, she does not seem to learn and pokes fun at Reimu once more.

Of course, she gets the gohei again.

Anyway, as for the shrine, it's still not finished, but at least all the pillars are up, along with the floor and some walls. Still, there's no roof and Reimu's erected a large tent near the torii, and that's where the four; Reimu, Marisa, Meibilin and Aya are staying, sitting in a circle around a glowing yin-yang orb. The last one was supposed to sleep outside –courtesy of Reimu-, but per Meibilin's request, she was allowed in, though the tengu somehow... SOMEHOW gets the idea that she's not welcome.

"Ah… err… are you sure it's alright for me to stay here?" Stutters the very, very uncomfortable tengu reporter as she glances timidly at Reimu.

The sweet, sweet shrine maiden smiles sweetly –too sweetly- at the tengu and says, with a matching sweet tone –with a hint of danger-, "Oh, it is purr~fectly fine, I assure you. But then again, I don't think I've heard you thank Meibilin yet… maybe I should… nuehehehe~"

"Actually, she has, mine lady Reimu… Twenty times, to be exact." Says Meibilin in the crow's defence.

Both crow and miko look at the pink-haired red and white as she cautiously starts plucking her Shamisen with its bachi- a large pick with a handle of wood tipped with ivory in the shape of an ice scraper. The secondary non-Hakurei Hakurei miko notices the stares, stops what she's doing and smiles sweetly.

Reimu and Aya's faces turn red and the Hakurei miko starts trembling, her eyes tearing up while the tengu wraps herself in the Hakurei-provided sleeping blanket, stammering as she says "I-I'll sleep early. I h-have work to do tomorrow."

The other three turn to the tengu, blink thrice, and deciding that it's a good idea, wrap themselves up as well.

Reimu mentally deactivates the yin-yang orb and the inside of the tent darkens immediately. "Good night~" she says as she pockets the orb.

"Good night." The other three respond in chorus. "Don't let the vampires bite", Marisa adds.

…and so ends another day for our tired cast.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Updated 2012:06:24;****日曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Shen, for being such a nice chap and Kerreb17 for setting up the IRC, where we all hang out daily (not so daily for me).**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

_Sorry for the MASSIVE delay, but I was a bit lacking on the motivation and confidence departments. There's also school, which is currently overloading my being with too much work. I also planned this chapter to be around 20K in length, but I decided to cut it as Sayu's had enough battles so far and I really did not create her to last for long periods of time without rest. So… there you have it. She's asleep. I'll be writing the second part of this chapter as a different one. Besides, by this chapter's timeline, it's already quite late._

_And yeah, Sayu is really, really powerful. Powerful enough to use one of flandre's spells and then burn it after usage just because it does not appeal to her. Why did she act weak during her first appearance? Well, she's not really built for endurance and rather'd not use her power when she can use a different method that does not drain her. Also, back then, she was not yet oriented to Gensokyo's magic, so using magic back then would have been near-impossible. But, now…._

_Oh, and if anybody ever finds any grammatical slips by me, can I please ask ye to point it out? I would be very grateful, thank you. Oh, and if possible, send these corrections though PM—either Fanfiction or through [Kouchadou]._

* * *

><p><strong>Footnotes, etc.<strong>

_*A reference to a [hopefully] well-known Zombie Gensokyo fic here in FF. Þe namen? You guess… no? A'ight, I'll give ye a hint: Willie G.R.-sama_

_*Countless Clouds is…._

_*By table, I mean counter. I prefer table since it feels more comfortable to me for some reason. No need to explain this. All shops have counters, ya?_

_By the way, if I remember it right, the entrance to the underground is a large cave that leads to a blowhole. Here, they refer to both the cave and the actual blowhole as blowhole because… even though it's not the actual blowhole, it's still windy at the cave. I swear, those flying rocks freaked me out in SA._

* * *

><p>CONTACTS<p>

_I got some off-site contacts. I'll put them here:_

_[Facebook] /ScarletCircle [Kouchadou] –I put updates and tweet-like messages here. I have twitter, but it's too much trouble, so I put announcements here._

_ [Youtube] /GarF1eId [] –I compose music and upload them along with other stuff, and this is where I put them._

_[MoTK] /Zurocha [/Zurobuwan] –I'm not so active there, bothering only with music-related stuff, so please don't bother if you're not interested in a slowpoke user._

_[Fantasy] /YakumoYukari –just joking! There's no such website as "Fantasy" and if there is, then I am NOT "Yakumo Yukari"… if he/she even exists there. Uehehehe._


	14. 4 : Pong

**_Meikai Square_**

**_4 : Pong_**

**_A ring of fire surrounds me_**

**_But that's not what keeps me in this prison_**

**_For it is by mine own free will that I stay_**

**_Though I be locked_**

**_Truth is, I'm free_**

**_-Unknown_**

* * *

><p>She awakes to the sound of something wooden hitting against… well, she hears something wooden, but that's it. Whatever it's hitting must be quite solid as it does not make noise of its own. <em>'That's strange…'<em>, she thinks. She remembers that there's no such thing as loose wood in her room… or what passes for her room, at least. The strange, eerie wooden tapping persists and she decides that she'll have to repair it NOW. Else, she wouldn't be able to sleep. She can grab a small shut-eye later anyways, and so, she opens her eyes…

…and sees nothing, or at least, what would pass for nothing and then, she notices something aside from the darkness: it's wet- VERY wet. 'Is my room really this dark and damp? I never remember it to be like this… ' she groans as she rubs her eyes. The wooden tapping is still there and it's really unnerving, as there's absolutely no wind. Even if there was a loose plank in her room, it should NOT be this damp and there must be wind to at least make to wood knock against each other. However, when her eyes finally adjust to the darkness, she could be no more wrong.

She's NOT in her room.

Instead, she's wrapped up in a sleeping bag with a thin blanket that cushioned her from the rocky floor. Oh yeah, did I say that she's in a cave?

Ah yes, I didn't. Anyway, she's in a cave, and a very rocky one at that. Another thing she does not notice is how the sound of howling wind fills the air. Surprising, since this is actually creepier and louder than the wooden knocking, but then again, she may have fallen asleep to that sound and gotten used to it in the process.

Curious as to what the wooden knocking might be, she looks up and…

* * *

><p>Windy Cave: The Underground's first entrance<p>

"Well, this is new." Remarks a certain green-haired girl, her voice quieter than a whisper as she stares eye-to-eye with a white-haired youkai, who apparently woke up when she entered. _'Oh well, crap anyways. I wanted to at least get a shocked reaction or something!'_

As stated before, her hair is green, tied into twin ponytails. Her eyes are brown and she wears…something with long white sleeves that reach her wrists. What she's wearing can't really be determined since her entire body from the shoulders down is hidden inside a large wooden bucket that somehow stays in the air (please, don't ask about how that's even possible. I can tell you, but then I'll have to kyuu you… it's not worth it.).

She is Kisume, and she's a turubi-otosi… err, tsurubi-otoshi for those who prefer that spelling.

As for Kotori, she looks up at the little bucket youkai while slowly slipping her right hand to one of her scythes in case the person above her decides to attack.

And she did… not. The little bucket youkai keeps on staring blankly at Kotori, creeping the little youkai out more than the previous knocking.

"Hmmm… she wants to eat me." Suddenly says Sayu to her side, the human sipping tea casually and somehow not bothered by what she just said.

"No, I'm not going to eat any of you!" Kisume protests, then after a few seconds, she adds "Not without Miss Yamame anyway…"

Her voice is cute, childish, soft…

"I'm here, you know" says a more mature voice from behind the bucket youkai and before she realizes what happened, Kisume is being hugged from behind –through her bucket, obviously.

"M-Miss Yamame!" squeals Kisume in surprise. "You're here!"

The new person, whose name is Kurodani Yamame, an earth-spider youkai with the power over diseases, hangs upside-down, suspended in mid-air by silk, which is not surprising, considering her nature.

She wears a long-sleeved black shirt with a brown sleeveless full-body dress over it, tied on the lower end by yellow ribbon, which is quite sensible, seeing her current position and prevents her skirt from falling to gravity. As for her hair, it's golden and tied into a bun with a brown ribbon.

The earth spider chuckles as she swings gently to and fro. "Yes, Kisu-chan~", then, still swinging, she turns her gaze to Sayu, licks her left-hand pointer finger and says "Now~ what snack do we have he~re?"

She slowly descends, keeping her eye on Sayu. when she's midway down, she casually instructs "Kisu-chan~ Deal with the youkai."

"Ha~i" replies the bubbly tsurubi-otoshi as she floats out of the spider's embrace and approaches Kotori, who takes out her twin scythes and immediately does an undeclared battle with the bucket, her attacking with slashes and basic energy shots and with Kisume using orbs of… fire. They don't look much like fire, being greenish and all, but still fire nevertheless: Hellfire.

The battle starts just as Yamame fully descends and stares eye-to-eye with Sayu, who somehow looks indifferent despite the hungry look on the spider's face.

…

…and, barring the noise of danmaku in the background and the wailing of the wind, there's absolute silence. It's so deep that you can even hear the crickets buzzing, cocks crowing and… scrap that. We're underground. Anyways, that's it: silence, silence, and more silence as Yamame keeps on staring at Sayu, who stays indifferent to the spider, watching Kotori's battle instead.

…

…and it was Yamame who broke the silence. "Hey!" she says a little loudly, hoping to catch Sayu's attention. "I said that I'm going to eat you, didn't I? Why in the world aren't you concerned?"

The spider's mouth curls up into a grin at that, revealing her teeth and impressive canines.

…

…but Sayu remains nonresponsive to Yamame's pearls. Hmm… nonresponsive to Yamame's pearls. That's a good rhyme with highly responsive to prayers!

Ah, wait. That's right! I meant Yamame's pearly, gleaming, sharp and god-knows-how-sharp teeth.

A vein pops in the spider's head (took it long enough. With how she's upside-down and all, I would have expected veins to appear earlier) as she shouts "HEY! HUMAN! I'M TALKING TO YOU HERE!" straight into Sayu's ear and then blocking her view of the battle.

And she finally gets a reaction. Not the one she was expecting, however- as a response to Yamame's being in her way, Sayu casually swats the spider away and continues watching the battle with some sort of interest.

Yamame falls over at how the human seems to be more concerned about seeing the battle than actually worrying about her safety. Or… well, she would have fallen over if only she was not face-down with a mouth full of moist dirt anyway. Speaking of moist dirt, as soon as she notices it, she spits all of them out with visible disgust. "Ugh… bat guano. Why did that become my breakfast?" she groans as she pulls a bar of cheap blue soap out of nowhere, shoves it into her mouth (don't ask. ever.) and spits it back out when she was sure that nothing remains of the guano she had a while ago; taste and texture included.

Her face still shows disgust as she runs towards the human, her mouth and mind full of an entire speech readied just for the human. However, as soon as she's within arm's reach, Sayu somehow thought it convenient to stretch her arms a bit.

And that she did. Of course, Yamame gets hit and kisses dirt. Again.

The spider youkai recovers faster than before, but now her lips are bleached perfectly white and so is her entire mouth; probably an effect of the bathroom acid that she took to rinse her mouth this time. Anyways, just as she recovers, she looks up and the first thing she notices was the hungry look on Sayu's face. Not just hungry, she's outright drooling! What she says next does not really comfort Yamame either….

"Hmmm~ that little bucket youkai sure looks delicious~ hmm… should I have her cooked on a spit or on a…" Sayu casually says –or more like, sings- while observing the battle. Kotori's on the winning side now, having used and still using a combination of agility, blasts and slashes to get at the little bucket youkai, who keeps on throwing fireballs.

As for the spider youkai, upon hearing those words coming from Sayu, she realises that they're not the predators this time- they're the prey.

"Oh Shi*!" screams Yamame as she grabs Kisume, who was about to receive another slash from Kotori and runs out of the cave, but apparently, they are too careless and hit a stalactite, falling down on the ground not a second later.

At that, Sayu lazily stands up and walks over to Yamame who realises who is approaching, whines and desperately reasons out. "P-please! It was just a prank! W-we didn't really mean to eat you- please spare Kisume!"

"Hmm~?"

* * *

><p>はくれい神社<p>

"Urrrrcgh…." groans one still-groggy Aya Shameimaru as she hammers another board into the supposed-to-be floor. Reimu said that it was supposed to be a reinforcing layer and that the original shrine –that is, before Tenshi rebuilt it with slightly harder wood- had it, but the tengu could swear that the Miko's just doing it to give her a hard time. The fact that she left with the witch earlier seems to support that idea.

"WHY IS SHE DOING THIS TO MEEE?" she cries out in pain and in response, lightning suddenly flashes, wind howls and a deluge falls upon Gensokyo… or so she'd like to think. It's actually still sunny and hot as heck, but the tengu certainly feels like it inside.

"Please don't be so miserable, Miss Aya. I'm helping you anyways." Replies a gentle, soft-spoken voice that she has gotten used to in her erm… temporary work in the shrine, and that's not because the owner of the voice treats her like a dog, oh no. not like that- the owner of the voice is actually helping her out in the repairs, volunteering to do it too.

"Meibilin", Aya says, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she turns to look at the shrine's temporary miko. "I thought you left with Reimu… you know, to wherever they are."

"I did not", answers Meibilin with a soft smile of her own. "I can't leave when I know I have work to be done. Besides, thou will be left alone here… and that will just be sad."

The crow tengu responds by blushing while saying "Thanks, Meibilin. You are the first person to be that concerned for me." _'This girl… she really cares, doesn't she?'_

And so, they return to repairing the shrine with smiles on her faces.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the magic library…<p>

Sakuya stands sheepishly in front of Patchouli, who, strangely, is wearing a slightly different outfit. Well, how would I describe it? Lessee, it's got the same build as her normal dress, but is indigo instead of purple. It does not seem to bother the magician though.

"Sakuya? Why is this one a different colour?"

…or maybe not.

The perfect and elegant maid curtsies… well, flawlessly and elegantly. How else would you describe a curtsy from the "perfect and elegant maid"? It has to be perfect and elegant as well, right?

Never mind that. Anyways, our time-stopping maid, as she finishes her time-stopping bow, in a time-stopping voice, says "My apologies, lady Patchouli. All others are still torn from your earlier battles with the black-and-white rat and are in the process of being repaired. The only ones available would be the ones that were stained with blue ink when the little sister ran rampant on the laundry room with her sister's inks."

Our asthmatic magician makes an asthmatic sigh as she says "If it can't be helped…"

Sakuya makes another bow and is about to pause time when Patchouli suddenly calls her name.

"Yes?" she responds, her face as solid and emotionless as ever; not even as the librarian's lips curve up slightly in a playful grin.

"If I remember it right, Remi came down here earlier, crying about a vampirivorous monster and a perverted maid."

"…ah… well, that la-"

"That vampirivorous part I can make out –the human that came by earlier looked like she was repressing hunger-, but care to elaborate on the 'perverted maid' part?"

"..ah"

The maid could not say any more, even as a wave of emotions and excuses reflect themselves in her eyes, which somehow belongs to a blushing face that really does not fit its stern expression. Seriously, it does not fit. Even a Stalinist-statue Hitler-head on a pink roman-style statue of cupid spearing a headless horseman built in Maori style wearing Chinese clothes fit better than that expression and her face! (And that's considering that the statue's Hitler-head has its hair painted pink, face black and eyes gold.)

* * *

><p>Windy Cave: The Underground's first entrance (inside a windless mini-cave)<p>

Sayu and Kotori have seated themselves on a small mat that the human somehow carried with her (what…?) and are drinking red (black) tea quite peacefully along with the tsurubi-otoshi and the earth spider that have also seated themselves on the mat- though in the case of the tsurubi-otoshi, it would be more like hanging on a friend's silken thread.

Now that I think of it, HOW DID SHE BRING THAT TEA SET ALL THE WAY HERE?

…I'd better not give it too much thought; I'm a narrator after all and dee author ees een dee woiks! I've seen the previous narrator go Marisa-mad trying to understand the workings of the author's mind, but I digress.

"Hmm… you two are actually nice people!" says the tsurubi-otoshi –Kisume- as she takes a sip from her cup.

"Sou desu ka?"

…there's no need to tell who said that because it's FREAKING OBVIOUS!

"Yes yes!" Kisume adds, speaking quite enthusiastically and happily. Not to mention in a childish manner. "No-one who attacked me before gave me tea after my defeat!"

"…sou desu ka?"

… fast forward a few minutes through their quite boring teatime and pointless chattering, we arrive here…

~Entrance to the Blowhole~

Kotori takes a look down at the massive hole in the ground. She could feel the wind and its strength, and not only that, but she could not at all see the bottom. The little youkai figures that it must not only be a trick of the humidity –there's certainly no lack of it-, but also evidence of the blowhole's depth.

"A-are you sure about this, Sayu-sama? I don't think I can fly too well with a weight on my back in these winds." Says Kotori as she gazes downwards in wonder. It must be like, a hundred? No, maybe a thousand feet?

"…"

There's absolutely no response whatsoever from Sayu, and even as she turns to look at her, the human merely stands there, looking downwards as Kotori was doing. That… and holding her open fan against her mouth.

Kotori glances down once again at the blowhole "Sayu-sama, I really don't think I can carry you on my back this- eh?"

There was a slight sound of footwear scraping the soft ground and when Kotori's head jerks to Sayu, she's no longer there.

"Wheeee~"

Well, that certainly stated where Sayu was.

And with a sigh, Kotori follows.

* * *

><p>(~*The Blowhole*~)<p>

Sayu rockets downward, her limbs held close to her sides, giving her minimum drag and allowing her to reach insanely high speeds despite the powerful updraft. She enjoys the sensation of the wind on her skin, the sound of her clothes fluttering in the wind and the sheer sense of speed. Not wanting to end it a bit too soon, she stretches her arms, then her legs away from her body, slowing her down and quite effectively so, considering the blowhole's updraft.

After thirty or so seconds, she slows down from no slower than 60 feet per second to no faster than ten feet per second and even so, she keeps on slowing until she finally reaches the speeds where she would appear to by flying instead of gliding.

This loss of speed allows Kotori to finally catch up with her companion. And, as soon as she's right beside the pink-haired human, she calls out "A-ah… Miss Sayu!"

However, for reasons untold, Sayu tucks in her limbs again and it did not take long before the human is once again shooting down the windy shaft of the blowhole at breakneck speeds, leaving one bewildered youkai behind.

At one point, the shaft narrows and the wind receives a massive boost in pressure and speed. Despite this, Sayu keeps on shooting downwards and, at her speed, somehow manages to create an airless void behind her- a sonic boom in a narrow enclosure.

Sayu slows down again, her deceleration faster due to the higher velocity winds and as before, the more careful Kotori catches up after a short while.

"Miss Sayu! What were you thinking!" Kotori asks, but unfortunately for her, the wind drowns out her voice.

Sayu, meanwhile, notices a dense cluster of fairies up ahead (or should it be lower down?). The fairies, upon noticing Sayu, immediately open fire and the human, unable to fight while gliding on the risk of spinning out of control, speeds up again and shoots through the cluster like a knife through butter. (Oh wait, that rhymed!)

The terrified fairies try to make way while cursing at Sayu. Nevertheless, the human manages to tackle quite a lot out of the sky and by the time she reaches fairy-free air and slows down, she has brought down at least twenty of them to their temporary deaths.

And when she finally slows down, she does so in the nick of time; the ground is already visible from her location. Still, she's moving a bit too fast to properly position her feet for landing and in a bid to slow her descent, she fires a concentrated energy blast downwards, allowing her to point her feet downwards towards the ground in addition to slowing her down enough for a graceful landing.

On touchdown, the first thing she notices would be the heat, followed by the much denser air and the slightly different feel of the place's magic.

Sayu walks around, spots a hanging bridge and slowly walks over to it. However, just as she puts her foot on the bridge's wood, a large energy blast flies her way. Sensing it, she draws her sword and, with a lazy, graceful swing, reflects it to its owner.

Whoever must have sent the blast must have not expected it to be reflected and a loud boom graces Sayu's ears along with a surprised shriek.

Sayu takes a look at her attacker and, in her own words; her attacker is "A young lass with hair like a field of ripe wheat, eyes of grass, wearing a Persian dress of brown and purple."

She is Mizuhashi Parsee, a very jealous hashihime or 'bridge princess'. Of course, Sayu does not know this.

"Thou there, keeper of this bridge that I stand upon. I humbly wish to pass. May I?" asks the pink-haired human in the most polite tone she could muster.

Unfortunately for her, the hashihime fails to hear her and instead grumbles. "The human deflected my attack…."

"Hmmm?"

"…I'M SO JEALOUS!" the hashihime screams audibly, and right after hearing that, Sayu quickly identifies Parsee as a 'spirit of jealousy', which holds some truth since Hashihime, the namesake of the species, was a human turned youkai due to jealousy.

"Thou there! I ask thee again; I kindly wish to pass over thine bridge. May I?" asks Sayu for a second time, still keeping her polite tone.

"NO!" comes another scream from the hashihime, which makes Sayu wonder why the bridge princess has to scream all the time; can't she talk normally? "YOU CAN'T PASS BECAUSE I'M SO JEALOUS."

Sayu stays still for a few seconds. Behind her, Kotori is apparently still fighting her way down –explosions and wee fairy screams say so- and the bridge princess in front of her seems to be quite unreasonable. There's only one way, it seems…

"Fine! If to let me cross thou desirest not, then we shall decide this over a duel!" Sayu declares. "Two Cards for this battle, lady of the bridge."

"FIIINEEE!" the bridge's keeper screams. "YOU'RE CHALLENGING ME. I'M. SO. JEALOUS!"

Parsee sends several more of those large energy blasts –green sphere danmaku- towards Sayu. who does not bother to evade and merely deflects them back to Parsee with her sword in the same lazy, graceful manner as before, forcing the hashihime to dodge her own shots.

"Is that all that thou hast with thee?" Sayu asks with a giggle and, as soon as Parsee's first barrage ends, the human retaliates by firing her own danmaku storm. Standard-strength shots by her own standards, but to the hashihime, they are way powerful and the pattern by which Sayu attacked with (two interlocking helixes of black butterfly danmaku moving towards Parsee, a ring of scarlet danmaku moving outwards counter-clockwise above a layer of black danmaku moving outwards clockwise and two clockwise and counter-clockwise rings of purple danmaku moving inwards towards Sayu) too difficult to dodge.

Parsee tries to weave through the pattern, but fails and goes down in one hit from one of the black butterflies. At the same time, Kotori finally comes flying out of the shaft and floats over to Sayu's side without a scratch.

"S-so… Miss Sayu, where do we go from here?" Kotori asks with a level tone, making her question sound like a statement. Sayu taught her that, of course.

"We cross over."

The two of course, cross over the bridge, making sure not to step on Parsee, who lies on her back with dizzy eyes and as soon as they reach the other side, what greets their eyes is not The Netherworld, which they were expecting, but a large and noisy city.

"M-miss Sayu. I think we came to the wrong place…" says Kotori with a shaky voice.

Distracted by a mansion she sees in the distance, Sayu does not seem to hear Kotori and instead grabs her and flies off at full speed towards it, passing through the city before its inhabitants could even yell a curse their way as they pass through a party, knock a table over and spill a cauldron full of lava. Heck. None of the citizens even caught sight of their faces. That is, except one…

It did not take long before Sayu arrives in front of the tall mansion, which seems to be made of wood and well-polished stone. It reminds Sayu of the mansion she was in a while ago, of which name she forgot.

Spotting the door, she slowly walks over to it. Strangely, however, just as she puts her hand on the door, it opens on its own, as if inviting the two. This scares Kotori, who immediately thinks of horror stories, but on the other hand, prompts Sayu to go in, who has seen greater horrors in her past… but of course, we are not really going to touch on that.

Sayu lets go of Kotori, walks inside, and after only a few paces, is greeted by a young lady cradling and petting a two-tailed cat.

She has purple eyes and matching shoulder-length hair, a third eye held by a red rob connected by nerve or artery-like tubes to the rest of her body, and wears a blue long-sleeved shirt with a frilly pink collar and matching cuffs. She also wears a pink short skirt, a black headband and matching shoes with frilly pink socks.

Satori Komeiji, the girl the spirits feared. She's a Satori, as her name implies and that means she can read people's minds.

ashdie

"Good to see you, Sayundobiigafujan Ginsapamatoshin and Shimada Kotori. I am Komeiji Satori of Palace of the Earth Spirits and no, The Netherworld is not here." Satori says in monotone, a light, barely-hidden grimace on her face.

Actually, Satori got that information from Kotori, who stands beside Satori, as she receives nothing but the mental equivalent of static from Sayu. to be specific, what she gets from Sayu would be like what one would get from putting four television screens showing different channels on top of one another in addition to a dull pain like wet gloves touching her brain. That would explain her grimace.

"My~? Thou knowest mine name already? You must be a mind reader then! Convenient!" says one bubbly Sayu.

"Ugh… convenient? Th-that's a nice change of pace if only I can actually read your mind." Groans Satori with a pained tone, making the two-tailed cat between her arms look up to her worriedly.

After a few seconds, Satori collapses from the intensifying mental pain she keeps receiving from both reading and trying not to read Sayu's mind. Finally, she can no longer bear it and screams "Get the heavens out of here! Go and find a white-haired knife maid and ask her. She knows where to find The Netherworld… just… get… out of here… please."

Before another word is spoken, Sayu turns around and walks out of the mansion. Kotori, dumbstruck at the sudden outburst of Satori –who she thought was a scary person, from the rumours above-ground-, blinks twice before going after Sayu. "A-ah! Miss Sayu, wait for me. Waaaait!"

Sayu is already three buildings away by the time Kotori catches up to her companion.

"S-Sayu sama! What was with the Satori?" asks Kotori. She has good reason, since no-one collapses like that for no reason.

"I don't know~" hums Sayu as she plays with her black fan. Does she really not know?

"Hey, you two!" calls a third voice and immediately Kotori's face snaps upwards to glance at the source of the voice: Yuugi Hoshiguma.

"Hey, lookie what tha cat brought in~ You a new face down here, aren't you, mates?" the oni asks. On one hand, she holds a red dish containing what must have been alcohol and drinks from it right after asking.

Kotori nods as a response. However, Sayu says something completely off-topic. "What about thee, Kotori? What dost thou think happened back there?"

Both Yuugi and Kotori turn to look at Sayu, who simply smiles with her face turned to Kotori's.

"Err… I don't know either." Answers Kotori with obvious unease in her voice as she answers her companion's question.

"It sure is strange… ah, an oni!"

A massive sweat-drop rolls down Kotori's face as she exclaims "You've noticed just now, Miss Sayu?"

"Hey, now that you two are lookin' at me, let me introduce me-self. I am Yuugi Hoshiguma, one of the four devas of the mountain, and I want to battle ya! But first, introduce ya-selves!"

"I am Kotori Shimada." Kotori says with a bow. Turning to Sayu, she asks, "Miss Eru…?"

"Hmm~?"

"Introduce yourself."

"To whom?"

"To that oni in front of us. And don't use your alias. Oni hate lies."

"Oh!" Sayu gasps, then, turning to Yuugi, she bows and says "I am Sayundobiigafujan Ginsapamatoshin."

"Good sport! You seem strong, so I'll battle you." Yuugi says as she draws two cards; [Oni Sign: Anomalies, Strength, Disorder, and Spirits] and [Mysterious Ring: Hell's Wheel of Pain]. "Two cards!"

In response, Sayu draws her own cards; [Hikari: Makai Spark」] and [Yakumo: Rain, Rain Come Again].

The oni kneels down, punches the ground and says "I'll state the rules. We battle, you using your cards and me with none. If I win, well, you lose. If you win, I'll escort you to wherever you want."

"Isn't that a bit unfair to you?" asks Kotori, who could not help but notice the big handicap the oni imposed on herself.

"Well, ya see, I love challenges and no-one can stand up against me in a fair one-on-one fight." Proudly declares the oni as she pockets the two cards she brought out.

"BEGIN!" shouts Yuugi as she rushes forward to meet Sayu, who draws Yukizakura and jumps out of the way just as the oni slams a foot into the ground, creating a crater and making Kotori jump back to avoid being collateral damage.

The oni turns around to Sayu, sees the blade and comments, "That blade you have there. I take it that it has not yet slashed an oni, has it?"

The strange human covers her mouth with her black fan while shutting one eye as she hums "Maybe~?"

Yuugi charges again, doing a left hook which Sayu blocks, only to have her thrown several feet up in the air due to the oni's pure strength. Despite that, she does not seem concerned and starts firing powerful blasts towards the oni, slowing her fall in addition to giving Yuugi something to evade.

In a few seconds, Sayu lands on top of a roof of one of the city's numerous residential houses. Gambling on her unpredictable flight abilities, Sayu jumps off the roof and, using her flight abilities to push herself, shoots downwards with the sharp side of her blade facing the oni.

Sayu's high-speed air-tackle is easily blocked by the left arm of Yuugi, who grabs Sayu's left arm and sends her flying against a building. The human twists her body accordingly so that her feet and not her back will be the ones to hit the hard surface.

**BOOM!**

Sayu succeeds in the nick of time and her back is spared. Strangely, the wall she hit does not seem the least bit damaged and Kotori, who is watching the battle from a safe spot on top of a roof, could not help but wonder as to what could have been used to make it so durable.

The human uses the inertia to launch herself into the air and once again using her not-so trusty flight abilities, she flies above Yuugi and once in position, points her sword downwards and declares "Hikari [Makai Spark]"

* * *

><p><strong>Voile the Magic Library<strong>

Patchouli perks up all of a sudden, taking her eyes off the 'laser' how-to book she was reading since the two left, feels a powerful magical shockwave echo throughout voile, making her frown and then growl not a little bit angrily. "Darn it all to hell! That human did get that far in that damned book!"

She gently puts down her book on the shelf and, as she slams the table, she calls out "KOAKUMA!"

A fluttering of wings can be heard and in a short while, the red-haired devil lands just beside Patchouli.

Koakuma bows politely and listens to Patchouli as she says, "Koakuma. Do you remember that book containing Gensokyo's most forbidden spells?"

The devil nods, wondering where her master could be going with this.

Patchouli produces the book in question and shows it to Koakuma, who gasps upon seeing the lack of its seal. "L-Lady Patchouli! It has been opened!"

The great librarian charges her left hand with power as she says, "That's why we must re-seal it and with stronger wards this time."

Koakuma mumbles something, and Patchouli, curious, asks ,"Please say that again, Koakuma."

The lesser devil nods and says "Lady Remilia told me on her way here that the human who brought the book used Laevetein."

Patchouli's eyes turn huge at that information. "She got that far? We MUST seal this book before someone else learns these spells."

The succubus nods and without ado, starts the two!

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

Marisa and Reimu look up and scowl at the sudden, but distinctive and overwhelming magical shockwave that just passed between them.

The shrine maiden, carrying a bag full of provisions for at least a month, having bought them somewhere friendlier than the Human Village, turns to her black-and-white youkai magician friend, who gets the gist of the maiden's thoughts and says. "Yes. I feel it too- The grandmother of all sparks- Makai Spark; Mima-sama's prototype of the Twilight Spark. "

The red-and-white, still serious, says "But that was sealed and declared unfit for the danmaku system, right? Mima herself knows that and besides, if someone else somehow learned the spell, how would he or she cast that spell here? This is Gensokyo, not Makai."

The black-and-white shrugs and says, "Beats me. Oh, and Makai Spark was supposed to be only as strong as the Final Spark, if I heard it right. Why is it outlawed?"

"Because," the Hakurei miko answers. "It absorbs the magical energies of those nearby to power the attack. That way, you can fire it as often and as long as you want without worrying about burning up and weakens the opponent as a bonus. It may even permanently kill youkai and fairies."

"…ah… w-wha…"

* * *

><p><strong>Nameless Hill<strong>

Nameless hill; a place long-abandoned because of a toxic mist that never seems to thin or leave the place… it's a beautiful place, carpeted with blossom upon blossoms of deadly, but beautiful poisonous flowers.

A long time ago, this was a place where unwanted children are left behind to die along with their beloved possessions. One of these items is a doll that after a hundred years, became a sentient being; a youkai that has been scourging the place ever since then, keeping the place to itself. However, unbeknownst to the youkai, among the blossoms lies an unspoilt, untouched corpse of a long-dead toxin mage.

Finally, after five hundred years after heart cancer laid her to rest, the energy overcharge of the Makai spark finally wakes the purple mist, the master of poison, ultimate toxin magus. Yukari Kasumi.

* * *

><p>Yuugi's eyes widen in surprise and anticipation as a core of massive energy gathers in between the human's palms, which she holds together and pointed towards the oni, who is set on taking the full brunt of the spell. Well, she can't be helped; the last time she heard "Spark" in a spell card, she received a blast worth her battle.<p>

"BRING IT ON!" Screams Yuugi as the core explodes into a gigantic beam of pure energy coloured black with scarlet outlines and hits her dead-on. Meanwhile, the nearby citizens of the underground city start screaming in terror as they feel their energy being drained- Kotori and Yuugi included, not that the latter is screaming as much as she is cackling in excitement.

After around a minute of firing the steady, deadly beam, Sayu cancels it, the black-and-red pillar slowly getting smaller until it becomes completely nonexistent. The force of the attack no longer keeping her up in the air, Sayu falls down, managing to land on a roof feet-first then jumps down to the ground, where the Oni stands, panting slightly and grinning at the same time. Several metres away, Kotori lies sprawled on the ground in a daze, partially knocked out by the drain.

Before the still-strong oni could resume the fight, Sayu grabs Kotori and runs all the way to the exit at full speed. That is, her full speed on foot and without aid from her perfectly reliable flight. It's that fast, but she manages to outrun the oni with it anyway and shoots right past the bridge and into the blowhole, where, for once, her unstable flight gives an advantage as she shoots straight upwards without the requirement of a command and once at top, rushes outside the windy cave and to the slope of the mountain, all in a matter of ten minutes.

* * *

><p>Black Screen<p>

* * *

><p>By the time Kotori recovers, the first thing she notices is that she's being bear-hugged by Sayu, who is somehow using her flight at maximum speed and managed to stay stable.<p>

She could see that they are somewhere in the Forest of Magic and up ahead, she could see the Scarlet Devil Mansion rapidly approaching and considering their current speed, it's very likely that they'll get there in thirty seco-

!Whoosh!

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

…or maybe I was wrong on that stable part since Sayu just rocketed upwards like Apollo 13, bringing the teary little youkai with her on a perfect 90-degree trajectory at speeds around mach two.

And then they stop. All of a sudden Sayu stops, only to shoot downwards again at twice her heaven-bound speed.

"!"

Kotori's eyesight blacks out –surprising, considering her youkai nature- for a few seconds after the sudden shift in G-force and the later violent braking… which was not so violent, since the human somehow managed to control her flight enough to crawl to ten feet per second.

Still, it's not enough and the force of the impact is still enough to create a small dent that barely passes for a crater.

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

"Lunchtime!" declares Meibilin, leaving a platter with a peach-pie on a table she has set up behind the donation box, which is halfway between the under-repair shrine and the torii gate before returning to hammering more wooden planks onto the floor, having eaten already.

This calls the attention of Aya, Marisa and Reimu, who are resting under a small shack by the shrine, sitting on top of a tree and bathing in the shrine's hot springs, respectively.

Aya cautiously walks towards the platter, then hides behind a support pillar as Marisa jumps off from her perch and, probably having broken a hip, stumbles towards the platter, only to hide behind a bush herself when Reimu, having changed, walks over boldly, then stops when the other two leave their hiding places and walks –or in Marisa's case, stumbles- towards the platter.

They approach it some more and then stop when each of the three of them are three metres away from the prize. At this, Reimu glances at both Aya and Marisa and then asks "So you two are pie eaters?"

Marisa shakily stands up as Aya says "In this world, there is only one peach pie… and there's no way am I going to let you beauties take it!"

"No way!" objects Marisa. "I'm the one that's going to have it!"

Reimu raises a cocky eyebrow then the three of them back off slowly a few paces. The next minute is spent by them eyeing each other warily as a tense atmosphere hangs over them.

Marisa cautiously raises her right hand, followed by Aya, who does the same. Reimu raises her hand last, more careful than the other two.

Then…

_Reimu_ "JA!"

_Aya_ "KEN!"

_Marisa_ "PON!"

The three of them lower their hands at the same time, Aya and Marisa having drawn rocks and Reimu, paper. Noticing her loss, the tengu falls over on her back from sheer surprise while Marisa frantically raises and lowers her fist again and again, but for some reason, she fails in opening it. The miko, smiling, walks over to the peach pie and carries it away, eating casually.

"H-hey!" Marisa calls out, to which Reimu responds by saying, "In this world, there are two kinds of people; those that eat pies and those that don't."

The black-and-white tries to run after Reimu, but trips over Aya and Reimu, just before she returns to the hot spring with meal in tow, grins and makes a shooting motion with her free hand to Marisa.

* * *

><p><strong>Scarlet Devil Mansion<strong>

Meiling opens the mansion's grand doors carefully and then steps inside, motioning for the two visitors to follow her. It sure is curious, having these two come back all of a sudden. It seems, however, that the only thing they need this time around was _her_, and so she calls for her. "Sakuya-sama! Those two people from yesterday want something from you!"

The silver-haired maid materialises right in front of the scarlet-haired gatekeeper, who then returns to her guard duty. Turning to the duo, she asks "You again. What do you want?"

Sayu does not seem to notice, so Kotori asks in her stead. "Miss Sakuya of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It seems like we asked for the wrong directions. What we wish to know is the directions to The Netherworld, and not to The Underground, it seems."

"Fine." Says the perfect and elegant time-stopping maid and, for one time-stopping moment, her frame fizzles. When her form stabilises, she now holds a white roll of paper and, passing it to Kotori, says, "Take this."

The little youkai bows and, after a polite thank you, exits the mansion with Sayu, who seems to be unmindful of everything around her—aloof.

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Updated 2012:06:24;****日曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: None**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

_This fic takes place approx. TEN years after TD, BTW. Marisa is already a Youkai here._

_Oh, and many thanks for allowing me to use thy Disclaimer Format, Willie G.R.-sama. Many thanks for thy reviews, as well as those of Sorrow. Greetings to thee too, Sweetbation. It's a nice feeling having two authors you admire and one other you are silently watching read and comment on your work. It really gives a lot of drive and well… you know, fuel._

_Say, that reminds me, now that I mentioned it. I can no longer be called someone who is 'Silently Watching' "An Epic Failure of Touhou Project" , huh?_

_Oh, and did I say this already, because I really do NOT remember saying this. Many thanks to ye, Willie-G.R.-sama, the great Flandre of the forums, SorrowfulReincarnation, the great Mima and Sweetbation, the Cyber-Youkai._

_…and here comes a gappy~ a gappy~ a guppy~_

_The next chapter will be –you guessed it- IN DI NEDAHWELD!_

* * *

><p><strong>Footnotes, etc.<strong>


	15. 5 : Black Blossoms

**_Meikai Square_**

**_5 : Black Blossoms_**

**_Sunrise, Sunset. Sunrise, Sunset. Swiftly fly the years; one season following another, filled with grief and tears. -Unknown_**

* * *

><p><strong>Nameless HIll<strong>

Medicine Melancholy: she is a youkai doll, or rather, THE youkai doll of the nameless hill. As a doll, she had short golden hair, blue eyes and wore a purple billowing dress, long cross-laced boots, a large red ribbon on her hair and two bands of cloth; one on each wrist. When she became a youkai, she carried all of these traits over to her new, larger body while her old doll self floats around her.

After all this time in the poisonous field, she eventually gained the ability to create and manipulate toxins inside her body and making her one of the most dangerous youkai for humans to meet since she is also known to attack them on sight, 'For the liberation of dolls from slavery under human hands' so she says.

For her, it was just like any normal day and even the sudden outburst of highly foreign energy does not matter a bit. Well, maybe it did, as she did stop and look at the sky the moment she felt it. Right after that little pause, however, she resumes what she does almost every day- strolling around the deadly hill.

However, shortly after the magical shockwave, a strange rustling catches her attention. Turning around to the source of the noise, she notices a large patch of flowers quivering. _'This is new' _she thinks. _'Another doll coming to life?'_

The flowers keep on shaking, almost as if something underneath the deadly blossoms wants to free itself badly. Driven by her curiosity, Medicine uproots the plants in the area. Then, finally, when she gets a metre deep down the decomposing remains of older plants, an unspoilt pale hand covered in rotten compost shoots upwards and grabs the doll youkai's left arm.

Shocked, and terrified at this horror-movie-like scene, medicine bats the arm away and jumps back, panting in fright as she observes the arm which seems to be digging itself out.

After a few minutes, the doll youkai's surprise fades and she resumes digging whoever-it-is-down-there out. Several minutes pass, and whoever must have laid to rest down here must have been down there for quite a while as even after the hole in the toxic compost approaches one and a half metres deep, the only things moving around are its arms and legs.

Finally, Medicine having moved enough compost out of the way, the buried person manages to free itself and climb out of its deadly grave.

It's a _her_ and she's soiled all over with the composted plants that buried her deep down, but she looks completely unspoilt and free of any physical damage.

She has long blond hair tied with purple ribbons at the ends, pale skin, lifeless, amber eyes and wears a silver mop-cap with a triangular plate with the engraving of the alchemical symbol of 'mercury' in front, a long silver-coloured western dress with purple frills at the cuffs, hem and on her neckline. She has two silver bracelets with purple gems on her wrists and lower down, wears a pair of black boots.

The strange person pats her dress free of the moist dirt then returns to the pit she was just dug out of. After a few seconds, she emerges again, holding a spear with a five-foot long black handle or shaft and a foot-long tip of purple diamond that starts by being completely transparent at the edges and slowly becoming more and more opaque as it joins the handle.

She turns to the shocked doll youkai and, with a very cold tone, says, "You, youkai. Tell me your name so that I may thank you properly."

Medicine frowns at the strange person she has just dug out. After all, is that how you would treat someone who just freed you? Still, she gives her name. "I am Medicine Melancholy. You tell me your name as well."

"Very well," starts the still-dirty person. "I thank you, Medicine Melancholy, for freeing me: Kasumi Yukari, venom mage and the world's most powerful in the toxic arts."

The doll youkai glares at Yukari and considers her options. True, she thanked her and that meant a lot, but on the other hand, she looks human and… humans are her enemies. She said she uses poison as well… but she said she's a magus and as far as Medicine is concerned, magi are the worst doll slavers there are; always using dolls to attack and allowing them to be destroyed freely.

Having learned that the person in front of her is a poison magus, Medicine visualises her and various other dolls-turned-youkai being used as tools and as it seems, that's all it took for her to make up her mind and, with a shrill shriek, the doll youkai leaps at Yukari (the…Kasumi sort.) with fists coated in explosive poisons.

Yukari seems a bit surprised at the doll's strange behaviour, but reacts in time and blasts the doll into the ground with a dense cloud of anthrax-filled miasma.

Medicine coughs as the anthrax enters her youkai body. True, she may be a doll youkai, but the keyword is "youkai". While her doll self may be immune to just about everything, her youkai body is still a living body and she can still be harmed by toxins that are not within her control. Viruses are amongst those that can harm her and anthrax just happens to be quite deadly… not that it will affect her too much, considering that she, like all other youkai, can resurrect as long as there is magic in their soul.

The toxin mage speaks again, her voice laced with danger. "Why did you attack me, ye doll youkai?"

Medicine barely manages to wheeze out her answer. "Kill…all…for the… *cough* freedom of all….doll…sss…."

"Is that so?" asks Yukari, her voice suddenly brightening and her face twisting into an evil smirk as she dispels the anthrax from within Medicine and, as the doll youkai weakly crawls back to a standing position, she adds, "Why fight for the freedom of all dolls when we can rule Gensokyo? You and I- we will teach everyone in this land fear of venom!"

* * *

><p><strong>The Netherworld<strong>

Kotori and Sayu stand before an awesome flight of stairs. From where they stand, it seems to go on forever upwards. It's no doubt that they are already in The Netherworld, as the lifeless trees to both sides of the stairs, ghosts and ominous fog clearly states.

The lesser youkai can't fathom, however, how The Netherworld ended up above the clouds instead of below the ground, as one would expect. After all, was it not heaven that was supposed to be so far up in the skies?

She tilts her head to the side, trying to make sense of everything. However, she could not find an even remotely satisfying answer and, with a sigh, gives up. Besides, she's seen many sights stranger than what currently lies before her in her lifetime.

Sayu still seems indifferent. Strange, Kotori thought. Sayu was the one who decided to go and visit The Netherworld on a whim… or is it?

Speaking of the human, her eyes have glazed over ever since they went through The Netherworld's giant gate, and that worries the lesser youkai, who could somehow see a strange, ageless spark behind those now-dead-looking pink eyes. Was it… hatred? Pain? She could not tell, but that spark has an almost ghostly glow that sends a chill down her spine.

_Maybe it was because of The Netherworld's ghostly nature? _

Putting those thoughts aside, Kotori looks up again at the long flight of stairs. Now, she's faced with a new dilemma-it looks like it stretches for hundreds of miles and how the heck are she and Sayu supposed to arrive at the other end?

"Eh, this looks like a problem, miss Sayu," she says with a face that says _"The end of the road. Sorry."_

The human does not seem to notice the look on Kotori's face, but responds anyway, having her fan open and cover her lips. "This? This is Easy"

"Easy!" Kotori exclaims, honestly shocked at her human companion's opinion. After all, she can't fly (too good) and these steps look like you'd die just trying to conquer it on foot. After a while however, she remembers that throughout the previous week, arguing with Sayu will go nowhere and so, lowering her head in defeat, she moans, "As you say…"

At that same moment, the pink-haired human leaps up the steps and for some reason, despite not using flight, shoots over at least four steps before losing altitude and needing to launch herself off the surface again. As for Kotori, one word can describe her feelings: Shocked. Oh, her face? Well, let's just say her eyes turned into circles and her mouth into a box.

Meanwhile, Sayu did not take long at the speed she's going and soon becomes a tiny jumping dot to the little youkai. Snapping out of her shock, Kotori leaps after Sayu, desperately calling for her whimsical human companion. It's there that she realizes that the earth's pull in The Netherworld is slightly weaker than that on the surface. Of course, this can be expected, The Netherworld being high above the clouds…

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

With two people rebuilding the shrine and one o being a youkai, the shrine is getting off the ground rather quickly. Already, by the second day of repairs, the floor and the stilts holding it above the ground are already finished along with the front wall and its swinging door.

As for Aya, who is setting the foundations on the left wall, she still can't believe that the floor really needed reinforcement. Heck, even the walls are gaining some weight as well. Reimu told her that the shrine Tenshi fixed used insanely strong wood much harder than the one being used to repair the shrine. This was supposed to be the reason for the reinforcements (as I, the narrator stated last chapter), but the crow tengu does not buy it. After all, what bloody kind of wood is more unbreakable than the one she's using right now?

It was sold by the villagers as "Iron Wood" and by the great Hakurei does she swear that it lives up to its name. Despite her youkai strength, driving a nail through one of these is like driving one through a freakin' slab of steel! Already, she has bent at least three dozen copper nails. Why the heck would Reimu provide copper nails anyway? For driving into "Iron Wood", no less!

While the crow tengu works on rebuilding the shrine, several metres away, Meibilin lies squat next to several long planks of the dark-coloured "Iron Wood", using a diamond-reinforced saw to cut them into regular sizes and hey, now that I consider it, All of Aya's tools are either copper or brass while Meibilin gets to use diamond-reinforced youkai steel. WHY IS IT SO?

Anyway, the unfairness of the tools set aside, it really does not matter as Meibilin, kind as she is, occasionally allows Aya to borrow her own tools, so it's all fair.

"AHHH!" moans the tengu with a mix of both self-pity and a sort of disappointment in her voice. "I BROKE A NAIL!"

And true, she did break a copper nail again. However, that's NOT the only nail that's broken. It happened to be so that when Aya bent the copper nail out of shape, she accidentally smashed her finger as well, breaking one of her precious nails. Thankfully, she happened to be using her copper one, so it's no biggie- just a small chip.

"Auu~ Stop that, will ya?" says Marisa, who is near the Hakurei's tent, talking to Reimu. "We already bought some youkai steel nails, so stop using those copper bits, ze!"

Reimu, inside the tent itself, adds, "Listen to the witch. Those copper nails are only needed to hold the shrine together until we get some proper nails and we just got you some."

"Re-nail those with the copper with the new steel bits, ze!"

The crow tengu grunts slightly as she picks up the copper nail's box and leaves it outside, taking the steel ones with her back into the shrine, where she grudgingly starts doing as the witch said and nails what she has nailed... again!

As for Meibilin, she stops for a moment and wipes her forehead with the back of her arm as she exhales. She's got to admit… sawing "Iron Wood" can be quite taxing. After a few seconds of rest, she grabs some sawdust, gets up and walks over to a small fireplace she had set up earlier in the shade. It looks like a circle of stones with more common firewood and some of the older sawdust. Nestled on the stones is a large metal pot (also made of youkai steel, which Marisa seems to be able enough to get) holding a delicious-looking mix of minced smoked suigyuu*, fresh shiitake, daikon shavings and some bamboo shoots.

Near the pot are several clean bowls, also made of "Iron Wood*". With grace, Meibilin takes a metal ladle and quickly fills the four bowls without spilling as much as a drop before placing the said bowls on a steel tray… human steel this time, since the tray is already quite old and all that youkai steel came into their possession only when Marisa led Reimu to a youkai village, which happened to be much friendlier than the Human Village towards the Hakurei… after all, young and old, immature and mature don't mean a thing to these and curse words don't affect them at all.

The temporary miko of Hakurei walks over to Aya and, placing the steaming, full bowl next to the tired crow tengu while saying, "Thou hast done well, Lady Aya. Please rest for a while for thou wilt faint if thou were to strain thy self beyond thy limits," with a smile.

The tired look vanishes from Aya's face and her eyes light up in gratitude as she picks up a pair of iron chopsticks and thanks Meibilin, who then goes to give Reimu and Marisa their own share.

Just like the tengu, Reimu seems pleased as Meibilin hands her the meal. Marisa, on the other hand, while pleased herself, is also curious, having picked those mushrooms herself.

The temporary miko walks over to Aya as the best friends behind her start talking to each other about the taste of the food. Reaching the part where Aya was-and is- eating, Meibilin sits down on the elevated floor, her legs dangling off the edge as she starts eating the soup herself.

Aya finishes her meal sooner than Meibilin and, as she sets down the bowl, turns to the temporary miko, asking, "Hey… um, Meibilin. Would it be alright if I feature you in an article in my magazine when this is over?"

The temporary miko stops eating for a while and, once her throat is clear, she faces the journalist-turned-temporary-carpenter with a smile as she says, "Eh…err… I don't really want to be that well-known, Lady Aya. Please don't."

The crow tengu huffs at the declination. "Auu, what a spoilsport… If you say so though, I won't do it. You've been the only person that's been this kind to me. Not even Momiji or Lord Tenma…"

Meibilin notices a sad light in Aya's face. Not a long while later, she could not help but notice a lone tear roll down the crow tengu's eye as she starts shivering for some reason. "L-lady Aya? Are you alright?" asks the temporary miko, worried.

The crow tengu snaps out of her thoughts –whatever they were-, notices Meibilin looking at her quite worriedly. "E-hehe! That was nothing. Pay no mind~" she says, laughing half-heartedly as she scratches the back of her head. "A-anyway, I got to go and was this first" she adds, tapping her now-empty bowl with her little finger. "See ya~"

Meibilin remains there, not knowing what to do of the tengu's subtle, but sudden emotional display. "Poor lady…" she sighs mentally. "She must hold a lot inside her soul."

As the temporary miko resumes eating, Reimu and Marisa bring up the topic of the sudden usage of a forbidden spell out of the blue.

Y'see, there are at least twenty forbidden spells mentioned to the duo by Marisa's mentor before she disappeared into Makai without a trace. Among these are….

"Makai Spark". This spell is about as powerful as the final spark, but as stated by *clears throat* yours truly, it drains absolutely no magic from the user and instead siphons magic from nearby youkai, humans, and even spiritual objects. As long as it has magical strength, it is drained. With this spell, you can fire the devastating ray as long as you want while causing death to the magical beings around you.

Second would be "State of Zero Boundaries". This spell literally breaks all boundaries in a large radius encompassing the target and the caster. This ensures not only the obliteration of the opponent, but also of the caster and all other beings within the affected area, which will remain an eternal hole in space and time until someone reconnects its boundaries.

Third up would be "Death's Hand". Much more horrible than the second in a way, this spell summons a storm of death butterflies that fly about, killing every living thing in an area as large as a city. It was said that an older version of this spell was the supposed "Seventh Plague" that struck Egypt during Moses' time.

Fourth in the fray would be "Spell of Erasure". This spell is worse than death in that while it may have only one target per cast, it completely eliminates all traces of the victim, including history and even the soul. In short, it would be as if the victim never existed, irreversibly erased out of the plane of existence.

These four were created and known by Marisa's mentor, Yakumo Yukari, Saigyouji Yuyuko and the first Hakurei, respectively. And, many years after Marisa's mentor informed the duo of the forbidden spells, at least sixteen more were discovered and outlawed. As for these spells, activating any one of them with knowledge of their status is supposed to be an act punishable by having half of your total magical strength blocked. It's possible to legally cast one of these spells once, but it must be approved by certain people in Gensokyo, though in other realms such as Makai, one may cast one of these spells freely. Those without knowledge of their outlaw status are deemed innocent though.

Makai spark is just one of eight outlawed magic-draining spells and just happens to be different from its cousins in that it was made by a powerful magician while the remaining seven were made by desperate, nearly powerless humans in attempts to overpower youkai. Having sprung from the hands of a magician, it was exceptionally dangerous as it drains magic faster than the ones made by ordinary humans, as well as cause massive collateral damage, like the final spark.

"So," says Marisa, pounding a roughly-drawn map with her left hand. "Where do we start investigating?"

Reimu remains silent for a while then lays her right pointer finger on the map's depiction of the Hakurei Shrine. Slowly, her finger moves across plains before stopping at the Youkai Mountain. However, she does not seem satisfied and traces back a bit.

"We'll investigate the area near the Youkai Mountain first. After that, we go to the mountain itself and then, finally, we go to the underground."

"Well," starts Marisa as she rolls up the map. "We're all set up. The pulse also seemed like it came from somewhere around there, so good choice, ze!"

"By the way…" Reimu asks her friend. "You're youkai now, right? How are you going underground?"

The black-and-white flashes a confident grin as she pulls out her hakkero and starts juggling it in one hand. "Just like how we did it before, ze!"

* * *

><p><strong>Somwhere…<strong>

_The energy pulse from the Makai spark echoes throughout the place, long after the spell was fired in the underground, catching the attention of two ladies in front of a table, playing str*p poker._

_"Someone has used a forbidden spell", says one._

_"The toxin mage…", says another._

_"The Hakurei will act soon.", says the first person as she puts down a card and declares, "Ha! Strip!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Die Niederwelt<strong>

Up… up… up…

There's seriously no end to the monotony to Kotori. She and Sayu have been speeding up this horror-movie-like scene of going back and forth in a loop. In fact, the lesser youkai wonders if they are actually going up and not just climbing the same steps over and over again…

She needs proof that they are actually advancing- badly!

And she gets it. First, it seemed like nothing was different, going up, up but not away as usual. The next second, however, a green blur shoots down the stairs and tackles Sayu, who draws Yukizakura in time and blocks the slash. Having been tossed into the air along with her attacker, she must have lost around three minutes' worth of climbing. Her attacker seems to have recognised her immediately after landing too.

"Ah, it's you." Says Youmu, who attacked with her longer sword, which she sheathes as she continues, "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Ufufufu~" giggles Sayu, her voice somehow gaining an eerie echo to it… as if there was someone else speaking with her at the same time. "Sorry for the dela~y!"

The half-ghost gardener's face shows mild shock and surprise for a moment, but she quickly blinks it off as a fourth person appears. "My, Youmu. It seems like we have visitors."

The new arrival is Saigyouji Yuyuko, a particularly humanoid ghost and the princess of The Netherworld.

She has maroon eyes, shoulder-length hair of a shade of pink that matches Sayu's perfectly and wears a flowing sky-blue robe with white frills, a dark-blue obi around her waist, a light-blue mob-cap with a white veil hanging behind it and a similarly coloured triangle of cloth with a red ghost insignia on it. Despite being a ghost, she has feet and thus, wears a pair of blue frilly shoes.

Realising the presence of the princess of The Netherworld, Youmu steps aside and bows as she says, "A-ah, Lady Yuyuko… this is the person I told you about."

Yuyuko steps forward and offers a hand to Sayu as she says, "Saigyouji Yuyuko, lady of Meikai and sen-sanbyaku-ni-juu-go in age."

Sayu takes the ghost's hand and, as the two pink-haired beings shake hands, says "Sayundobiigafujan Ginsapamatoshin, human and sen-sanbyaku-yon-juu in age. Honoured to meet thee, Hlafdige Yuyuko."

"The pleasure is all mine~", replies Yuyuko with a giggle. Meanwhile, Youmu, who has heard every single bit of their introductions, could not believe her ears. A LIVING HUMAN claiming to be… nah. This is Gensokyo after all. Oh well, that explains her archaic speech, but…!"

The dead princess turns around to walk –or rather, hover- towards the top of the stairs, but before she moves three metres, she looks behind her and says, "Please do come with me. Ye two are officially invited to Hakugyokurou as guests and thou, Miss Sayu, as Youmu's sparring partner.", the ghost gardener following her mistress as she continues towards the top

"Mine pleasure." Replies Sayu as she follows Yuyuko, looking like she's hovering herself due to the ease of her steps, followed by Kotori, whose steps, while not as elegant or as light as of Sayu's, are graceful as well.

In a few minutes, they arrive at the top, and what greets Kotori's eyes is a forest of dead-looking trees with ghosts all over. The sky above her is full of clouds, though much thinner and wispier than the clouds that lie below The Netherworld.

Just like the area below the stairs, there is an ominous fog throughout the place, though much thinner and less moist than the previous one.

Then, in front of them is a long, well-maintained stone path that leads towards a Japanese-style mansion.

The four casually walk towards the mansion and reach it without a word being spoken. The lady of The Netherworld leads the group towards the garden, and it was an impressive sight.

The garden itself takes the space of a large village. There are no plants—unsurprising, considering that they are in The Netherworld. Instead of foliage, what greets the little youkai's eyes is a sea of pebbles raked into flowing patterns and, in the centre of it all, a dead titanic cherry tree. It's so large that one would never believe it to be a cherry tree. Instead, one would think of a baobab-acacia-redwood cross. It's so large that one would take a minute to walk briskly around it.

As soon as Sayu sets her eyes on the cherry tree, a powerful burst of hate and ghostly energy emits from her body, but fades almost immediately, confusing Youmu, who immediately turns to Yuyuko, who she thought let loose the energies. As for Kotori, she gets the shock of her life and jumps in surprise.

Yuyuko herself, though, merely giggles at this outburst of a hate and power, as if she was expecting it herself.

Grinning, Yuyuko walks back towards the mansion and as she passes by the three, she says "Follow me, you three."

The dead princess leads the three to the tea room and motions for Kotori, Youmu and Sayu to sit; the gardener to her right, the lesser youkai to her left and the strange human in front of her.

As soon as the four are seated, Yuyuko whispers to Youmu "leave this room. Bring that youkai with you and don't brew tea in the meantime. Make little food as well."

The gardener is puzzled by this unusual request- she had known her mistress to be unpredictable, but this one was something new- she did not mean her words to be playful this time. Instead, it seems like she was planning something herself. But it's her mistress after all and, complying with her orders, she asks Kotori to come with her to the kitchen.

As soon as the two are gone, Yuyuko leans over the table and, a glint in her eyes, she asks_, "Thou art hier in mine land ne meerlice to feocht with Youmu, rycht?"_ [you are not here in mine land merely to spar with Youmu, right?]

Sayu's mouth curls up into a grin as she replies, _"Het semas swa that thou cnawest of mine wysch to cytan mine geoc."_ [It seems so that thou knowest of mine wish to cut mine yoke]

Yuyuko returns to a normal seating position as she asks, _"Het es fracht wyth gefahr, cytung thine hlekkr with se deadlic blostm."_ [It is fraught with danger, cutting thine link with the deadly blossom.]

With a determined tone, Sayu replies, _"Ich eom radig to taka se ende schold ich losian."_ [I am ready to take the end should I lose.]

The dead princess seems satisfied and says, _"Sore wel, thou maeg gan ond do hvat thou wyschest_" [Very well, thou may go and do what thou wishest]

Yuyuko taps the table twice with her fan, which is pink in colour, looks side-to-side and after a few seconds, calls out "Youmu~? I~ Am~ Hung~ry~!"

The door to the kitchen slides open quickly and Kotori, followed by Youmu, hurriedly enter the room, bringing with them mountains of food that they pile on the table. In a few moments, what was once a simple tea-table became a gourmet complete with tea, sushi and all the good stuff.

Kotori and Youmu return to their respective seats and wait for Yuyuko to take the first bite, and well, it was not at all restrained. Sayu follows, also eating in the same fashion as the dead princess. The two white-haired serva- err, persons start eating last and at a more relaxed pace than their two pink-haired companions, who did not even bother to use chopsticks in the proper way and instead are guzzling them down their food like soup.

Kotori, as she eats her share, could not help but wonder what the two were talking about earlier. You see, curious, she laid her ear to the sliding door as the two started to converse. No good, she still can't understand a thing. Come to think of it, how in the world did those two get a common language? Are they old acquaintances, or maybe…?

_'I'm thinking too much again'_ Kotori groans inwardly as she tries to banish her thoughts. _'I better focus on this food instead…'_

It did not take long before the two pink-haired gluttons clear the table and Youmu had to prepare more food again. It's quite taxing to prepare food for Yuyuko alone, but with a Yuyuko-eat-alike around, well…

Anyway, the next hour is spent eating and drinking (tea) merrily. Finally, when the little feast ends, Sayu and Kotori go out into The Netherworld's garden. Yuyuko and Youmu follow them soon after, taking in the great space.

The pink-haired human opens her black folding fan and covers her lips, which then curl into a sharp frown as she glares at the sealed, but very much alive youkai tree.

Oblivious to the deadly anger surrounding Sayu, Youmu approaches the human and asks, "So, when are we going to duel?"

Sayu tilts her head to face the half-baked gardener and, with her voice distorting in a few syllables, she says, "Hmm~? I wonder when?"

Before Youmu could reply or maybe ask, Sayu sprints towards the Saigyou Ayakashi. Surprised at this unpredictable behaviour, Kotori tries to go after her, reaching out a hand. "H-hey! Get away from tha-"

She is stopped when Yuyuko grabs both Kotori and Youmu by the shoulders. Then, in a whimsical tone, she says "Why not watch this spectacle with me, hmm~?"

Youmu's face shows worry as she stares wordlessly at Yuyuko's smiling face. As for Kotori, she simply tilts her head to the side, confused at the confusingly confusing flow of confusingly confusing events… confusing.

As soon as Sayu reaches the base of the ginormous youkai tree, she glares at it even more with intensifying anger. Then, with one graceful stroke, she unsheathes Yukizakura and stabs it on the ground. She then backs up a bit and then stretches her arms to her sides just like when she casted the "Yakumo: Rain, Rain Come Again" spell.

After a few seconds, it appears that nothing's happening, but to Yuyuko, she could clearly see Sayu's aura flare up like a miniature sun and soon enough, that energy manifests itself in a way visible to both Kotori and Youmu.

Death butterflies start flying out of Sayu's arms and circle the great tree, but unlike the Ayakashi's or Yuyuko's death butterflies, hers are black as night and trail a ghastly miasma like soot with every flutter of their wings. This surprises the two white-haired blade wielders as neither of the two were expecting Sayu to have death butterflies like Yuyuko as well, and not only that, the difference in colour is strange as well.

Sayu starts hovering as the black Death Butterflies coat the entire tree, making it look like as if it was blooming black blossoms, then the human starts chanting.

_So doth heaven declare_

_Under thy roots are innumerable corpses_

_Killer, thou art of the worst kind._

_Indeed thou must be sealed, but lo, it has been done_

_My link to thee is now without purpose_

_And to sever it is my will._

When she finished chanting that last line, the Saigyou Ayakashi groans a strained, wooden groan not unlike a tree being felled and in a massive burst of black and white, Sayu gets thrown backwards and hitting ground in front of Yuyuko, who does nothing but stare amusedly at Sayu, who lies on her back with her glazed-over eyes fixed on the sky with an empty look.

Yukizakura floats and cuts something invisible, glowing red after a while due to massive resistance on the sword's actions. After having cut all the way, it gives in to the same pressure that threw Sayu back and before either Youmu or Kotori could realize what happened, it shoots straight towards Sayu and stabs itself through the human's heart.

Still gazing emptily at the sky, Sayu coughs out a lot of blood, forming a small puddle on the ground when it falls to the ground. Youmu and Kotori get a horrible shock and in panic, the lesser youkai attempts to approach Sayu, only to be held back by the dead princess, who is also pushing Youmu aside.

After a few seconds, the glaze fades from Sayu's eyes and she coughs four times as she lifts herself off the ground and gets into a sitting position, her own sword still sticking out of her chest.

Both Youmu and Kotori shiver horribly as Sayu turns to look at them, the sword through her chest and the blood from her mouth giving her the look of something like a certain princess being impaled by a certain noble through the chest with a three-foot-long wooden stake. It's creepy and then, still shivering like vibrators and scared like hell, they both ask the same thing in the same disbelieving tone. "Why didn't you die?"

The impaled human tilts her head to the side and, in a playfully Yuyuko-like tone, asks "I wonder why~?"

She glares at the sword through her chest and frowns. "it's going to be a pain walking around with this thing through mine chest. I may even stab someone by mistake."

Without thinking about the poor innocence of the two child-like beings in front of her, Sayu casually pulls out her sword and then glares at the bloody blade. Unlike before, it now seems to glow in a strange bluish light.

"Ah, so thou art a youkai blade now, I reckon, Yukizakura?"

Meanwhile, Youmu and Kotori could only do one thing. They screamed. They screamed horrified, ghostly screams.

* * *

><p><strong>Nameless Hill<strong>

Yukari grins vilely as she paints the last stroke of a very intricate spell circle at the very centre are two empty spaces.

She has cleared quite a bit of the toxic field just to set this up and well, it does not matter to her anyway. It's just a bit- not _all_.

She grabs Medicine, who was standing beside her and places the doll youkai on one of the circles before flying over to the other one. She raises her spear-like staff towards the sky as she starts reciting a very complex spell in an unknown language. Slowly, parts of the spell circle light up and before long, the toxic field is glowing red and purple as the entire set-up glows in a strange magic.

Finishing the last lines of her spell, Yukari stabs the staff against the ground, triggering the production of a thin purple mist that rapidly spreads across the land, blocking out the sun. Soon, all of Gensokyo is covered in a purple mist that slowly saps every single being in Gensokyo of every species of their strength and makes them unbearably dizzy.

"Success." Declares Yukari as she looks at her job well done. Medicine looks impressed as well, a wicked grin on her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Youkai Mountain<strong>

"Urk-"

Reimu Hakurei stops suddenly as a splitting headache throbs through her mind, intensifying with every beat of her heart. Unable to keep focus, she falls down to the ground, a mortified look on her face. Marisa, who was flying beside her, falls as well.

"W-what is this?", gasps the black and white, who clutches her chest, which starts to hurt as well.

"Poison" says the Hakurei miko as she attaches a small charm on her chest, immediately ridding her of the effects of the poison. She places one as well on Marisa, who gasps in relief when the burning sensation of poison fades from her chest.

"It seems… that we have a new priority, Marisa." Says Reimu as she tries to stop the purple mist from obstructing her vision.

"Well, this reminds me of that time…" says Marisa as she juggles her hakkero with a grin on her face.

"This is an Incident~!" the two declare at the same time.

* * *

><p><strong>Se Netheraworuld<strong>

Yuyuko could not help but hide a smile under her fan as Sayu emerges from the dead princess' dressing room.

Since the human's own clothes were too stained and damaged for a quick repair, Yuyuko volunteered to lend the human a set of her own clothes. "Patron's hospitality", or so she says.

And even Kotori and Youmu could not help but react in surprise at what they see upon the human's appearance. Heck, their jaws dropped to the ground while their eyes turned into full moons at the very, very unfathomable sight.

Now wearing the same clothes as the dead princess, she looks like a spitting image of Yuyuko, save for the colour of her eyes. Heck, even her pose and mannerism is similar- she holds her undamaged black folding fan in front of her eyes as she holds her knees bent, her upper body leaning forward and with one of her eyes closed as the other, half-closed, is turned upwards towards the white-haired duo and her ghostly look-alike.

"A-a doppelganger!" the white-haired pair exclaim at the same time.

At this, Yuyuko and Sayu suddenly grin playfully. The two walk towards each other and once side-by-side, they close their eyes, pocket their belongings and then rapidly switch positons.

"Hey, Youmu! I'm here!"

"No, Youmu, I'm here!"

"Hi there Kotori!"

"Who am I?"

"Who am I?"

"I am here!"

"No, I'm here!"

This drives the two to confusion. Their eyes turning into spinning spirals, they start teeter-dancing and then fall over.

The two look-alikes stop and then giggle between themselves as they approach their subordinates –or in the case of Sayu, companion- and then help them up.

"Hup, Kotori!"

"Hup, Youmu!"

The white-haired duo sigh as they look at their superiors' eyes, only to see that they're switched, with Kotori staring into the maroon-eyed Yuyuko and Youmu staring into the pink-eyed Sayu.

They blink, and for some reason, the two have switched, Kotori staring into Sayu and Youmu into Yuyuko instead. Confused, they turn to each other and shrug.

However, when they return to staring at their superiors, they are no longer there. Instead, they are staring at pieces of paper stuck into the wall. Written on them are: "Sayu- red tea. Yuyuko – green tea."

The white-haired duo turn around to look at the coffee table and sure enough, our favourite wily pink-haired pair are seated, waving their left hands at the two while smiling widely with their eyes closed.

A shadow falls over the two, who seriously could not tell them apart and had no idea of what to do. They prepare the tea anyway. First up to go is Youmu, who offers the green tea to the pink-haired one on her right. However, just as she sets the tea down, the one on her left says "No! I'm Yuyuko, Youmu. Can't you tell who your beloved master is?"

The gardener stays still, dumbstruck as she seriously could differentiate the two, but if that is true, then… it's true, so she slides the tea over to the one on her left. However, just as Youmu is about to leave, the one on the right says "Oh, no, Youmu! I'm Yuyuko!"

The ghostly swordsman's eyes turn feral as she slides the tea over to the one on the right. Just as before, when the cup of tea is in the possession of the other, the possible-Yuyuko to her left says, "After all this time, can you still not recognise who I really am? Really, Youmu, you disappoint me so much I could cry…"

With a stiff face, Youmu slides the teacup over to the one on her left. After a few seconds, the possible-Yuyuko on the right side says "Yo~u~mu~! Can't you identify the real fake from the fake genuine?"

The half-baked swordswoman passes the teacup again. This happens two more times before Youmu finally reaches her limit and storms off into the kitchen, makes an extra cup of green tea and another black tea, takes Kotori's tea, rushes to the tea room and gives each of the two Yuyukos a cup of each kind of tea.

The two possible-Yuyukos giggle and pass the teacups over to each other until the one on the right has two cups of red tea and the one on the left, two cups of green tea.

Youmu and Kotori sigh at the overloaded playfulness of the two. The pink-haired pair open their eyes and sure enough, Yuyuko's the one at the left and Sayu the one on the right.

The two contentedly sip tea for the next few minutes, with rice cakes made by both Youmu and Kotori served as well. As for Yuyuko, she could no longer see the pink chain that was connecting Sayu to the Saigyou Ayakashi earlier. Instead, it now links to her sword, Yukizakura that curiously turned into a youkai after what it did.

"So, what are you going to do now?" asks Yuyuko to her human look-alike, who responds, "I intend to leave as soon as I give thee a parting gift. Maybe I will return later to spar with Miss Youmu."

"Ufufufu~ What is it, I wonder~?"

**Se Ende of se Arc [Meikai Square]  
>To the next dream…<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Updated 2012:06:24;****日曜日****;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: None**

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes<strong>

_Of course, not all magi use dolls to attack. I mean, look at Patchouli and Marisa. It just happens so that Alice would be the one to burn the impression of 'magi' into medicine's little doll mind._

_Oh, and as you can see, I used MAGUS here with the connotation "MAGICIAN". I hope you don't mind. I know the meanings of MAGUS anyway, and the second meaning fits my usage._

_As for Aya, yeah. I don't like thinking of her as an overly perverted voyeur. LOOK AT HOW SHE NEARLY CRIED! SHE NEEDS SOME LOVE, GUYS! I kinda feel sad that I had Reimu abuse her this much, but hey! She can be quite annoying. You could say that she deserves this... from Reimu's viewpoint at least. From mine, well… *pats Aya* there, there… do you want me to gap you to Satori?_

_AH AND YESH! I'VE HAD THAT MEIKAI SCENE PLANNED FOR MONTHS ALREDY! UAHAHAHAHA! Apologies to those who were expecting something more… I'll try and make up to your expectations the next time she goes to The Netherworld._

_Oh, and guess what?_

_I'm behind you  
>Noting your every move<br>Running shivers down your spine  
>Drinking your blood<br>Eating your soul  
>Listening to your screams<br>And watching you die  
>After I tortured every little bit of your being<br>Squeezed out the music of your death screams  
>And gave you mock opportunities for fleeing<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Footnotes, etc.<strong>

_* Suigyuu- Sui, "water" [__水] Gyuu, "cow (?)" [__牛]. essentially a water buffalo or, as we call it here in the Philippines, "Kābao"/"Karabao"_

_* There IS such a thing as Iron Wood. It's dark, hard and durable. Not actually as hard as iron, but close._

_*I made them say their ages in Japanese since I felt like trolling a bit. Still, it's easy enough to figure them out._

_*Hlafdige is an older/archaic form of "Lady". I say it as "Hlafdiie (Hlaf-dee-ye)_

_*Yuyuko is old. It would not surprise me that she, along with Yukari and several other oldies know archaic._

_*Ne is an old form of "No" and also means "Not"._

_*Please note that in Sayu and Yuyuko's discussion, they are using the older pronunciations, which means the "GH" in Night is pronounced as the german "CH", thus CH. Also, they pronounce both V and W as V._

_*OLD ENGLISH FTW!_

_*I don't add an "S" after Japanese nouns even when used as plural. Names are an exception._


	16. 1 : Reign of Chaos

**_Embodiment of Torturous Death_**

**_1 : Reign of Chaos_**

**_I kill, therefore I am._**

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

Reimu Hakurei stands before the torii of her no longer so-great shrine. The air around her is dominated by a toxic mist that seems to slowly damage or maybe even eat soft flesh like that found in the lungs or in the airways; luckily for the crow tengu and the newcomer that were repairing the shrine, the mist could be warded off by a simple kind of warding talisman and the Hakurei miko arrived just in time to attach one of each to the two.

As for Kirisame Marisa, who went with Reimu to investigate the usage of a forbidden spell, she was instructed by the miko to alert all of Gensokyo's major players of the incident and provide them with barrier charms that the Hakurei created with the specific role of creating small hospitable pockets of life in the deadly mist. The now-youkai witch and the shrine maiden might not be the most reliable people in times of peace, the former due to her not-too righteous habits and the latter due to an overall unwillingness to act, but when Gensokyo's safety is in line, there are none more dependable than these two.

As for Reimu, she had just set eight metal wards around the base of her the hill on which her shrine stands, said wards transcribed with trigrams and reinforced with talismans. The talismans that Reimu tasked Marisa with were adequate, but as the Hakurei Shrine is a particularly important spot in Gensokyo, Reimu felt it prudent to give it even more protection and thus used metal wards instead, as barrier wards are not only able to create barriers by themselves, but they can be reinforced by other barrier mediums, such as what the Hakurei miko did with trigrams and the additional talismans.

Taking a long breath, her lungs protected from the venom by a small warding talisman she placed on herself a while ago, Reimu closes her eyes and concentrates. Relaxing her body, she starts channelling energy into the wards and chanting in a strange dialect even older than that of Gensokyo's. Gradually, the wards start shining a bright red –the colour of the Hakurei's aura-, gradually intensifying until they glow as bright as miniature suns and then shoot bright laser-like beams into the sky, converging in the sky above the downed shrine.

As soon as the beams make contact with each other, a semi-transparent jelly-like dome races downward from the point of contact and envelop the entire hill in just over a minute. As soon as the dome makes contact with the ground, it becomes more and more transparent until it becomes like a cover of transparent red plastic film over the hill on which the Hakurei Shrine and the ultimate easternmost boundary of Gensokyo is drawn.

The air within the dome starts stirring around in short and sudden gusts as the barrier drives the toxic mist out the air it encompasses, and at the speed by which the air is cleansed, it will be fully breathable in a matter of minutes. Nevertheless, the gusts are not all good and Reimu Hakurei has to hold fast to one of the torii's pillars in order to avoid being knocked down by the turbulence. She has to push down her skirt as well, lest it fly up and embarrass her greatly. As for the tengu and the newcomer, they luckily didn't have to worry about being blown all the way to heaven; they have sought refuge under the shrine's raised foundation.

All over Gensokyo, similar border-erections are being cast, and while none of the other borders are as bright or as powerful as the one of the Hakurei Shrine, they are much larger and seem to be quite satisfactory, with particularly large ones covering the Human Village and the Youkai Mountain. Unlike the well-defined dome of the Hakurei however, most of these borders are a slightly larger outline of the area they protect, with the only exception being that of the Human Village, which looks like a cube set to be only as wide and long as the village walls and as high as the tallest building inside.

It seems that Marisa did her job and did it well, for Reimu could easily spot the barriers on the Forest of Magic, the Myouren Temple, Koumakan, Senkai and surprisingly, she could even barely feel the energy of the barrier at Eientei, which, as always, is hidden from sight.

Finally, after around a minute, the turbulence stabilises to the point where our favourite shrine maiden of paradise can let her beloved post go and, just in time as she does so, she sees a rapidly approaching blur of black and white—Kirisame Marisa, our favourite speed demon, who could now race against Gensokyo's fastest tengu and win one in four. Having finished the task given to her, she immediately decided to meet up with Reimu.

The black and white slows down as she nears the barrier, passing through it and then landing as elegantly as a seal walking up a beach beside Reimu. Safe to say, she crash-landed. After all these years as a magician and even with her newfound power and speed as a youkai, she still hasn't mastered the art of the runway and if ever she had just been flying at high speed, two out of three landings of hers are doomed to end up as failures, usually with her kissing the ground and at other times, shattering what unfortunate dwelling lay before her to pieces.

This time, as she approaches the torii, she flies at too steep an angle, the tip of her broomstick pointed down towards the ground in a forty-five degree angle as inertia pushes her forward. The tip of the broom scratches the ground and rapidly slows down. The back of her broom, without anything to slow it down, keeps on flying forward and before she could even notice it, slams the speed demon witch against the ground hard.

If she were still a human, that would have killed her, but as she is now a youkai, she merely walks out of it with nothing but a flesh wound and a broken skull that will heal in time. Besides, as a human, she would have been unable to attain the speeds that could cause such an accident as back then, she was only half as fast as she was now.

Nevertheless, youkai or not, accidents like that have to hurt like hell and by hell, I mean hell; Marisa's bones easily repair themselves in seconds thanks to a handy auto-activating spell that her mentor taught her as a counter to her constant accidents: it's a spell that does everything to reconnect muscles and bones correctly, but it does nothing to ease the pain or heal injuries sustained through other means and costs a lot of energy to use. For all that its worth, it actually makes the pain worse, as while the broken bones move inside her body, they simulate pain nerves as well, making the application of this spell in the middle of a battle simply unspeakable.

The spell activates and Marisa's bones start crawling like worms, exposing her to pain too gory to describe.

The healing spell might be effective and may make one seem invincible from the perspective of one who never used it, but it's just too brutal for daily use and cause more pain than necessary. Of course, if you consider that an evil spirit that cares more about the results than the means was the one who made the spell, that painful flaw wouldn't come as a surprise.

It would come as a surprise, though, why that evil spirit would even teach such a brutal spell to someone she would obliterate a city for, and that someone of course, is Marisa, who, though is fully healed and back to tip-top shape in mere seconds after suffering injuries that would cost people millions and years in the outside world, couldn't move, completely immobilised by the leftover pain.

Reimu Hakurei, standing over at the torii, had very little knowledge on this spell, aside from 'it heals in an instant, ze~ ', as the black and white told her and therefore, does not know the pain that Marisa goes through every time it activates.

She noticed that Marisa does not seem to be able to move for a short while after every repair, but she interprets this as a mere side-effect and though she had doubts that it was a painful spell once, Marisa comforted her with her usual lies, for the black-white has no intention to let her friend on in the pain she feels after every accident.

So, as is usually her reaction every time this happens, Hakurei Reimu walks over to the temporarily vegetative Marisa and carries her over to the in-progress shrine. She sets her friend down on the floor and as Marisa's blanked-out eyes focus on the floor, she readies tea and pulls out a tengu-made map of Gensokyo, a scroll that appears to be just newly printed.

Marisa recovers from her stupor just as the sound of paper being unfurled fills the open room. Having just left the world of pain, she looks around, disoriented; she somehow feels like she knows the floor and the half-made walls before her, but for some reason, she could not put a wand to it. She groans, her head still aching slightly and stands up. All of a sudden, she feels the blood rush from her head and the floor suddenly wiggles from side to side like some sort of gigantic snake.

Slowly, the dizziness leaves her and she notices the all-too-familiar scent of the Hakurei maiden's tea, and that's all it took for her to realize where she was. _"Oh! That's right—I'm at the Hakurei Shrine!"_

The tea that Reimu always serves at the Hakurei Shrine is quite distinctive and can never be mistaken for another; it has a slight incense-like scent and a touch of the delicate aroma of the earth. Its taste is also unique, for in all of Gensokyo, only Reimu uses fermented oolong tea leaves mixed with peach; most others prefer green tea, like Eientei and Meikai or red tea, like Koumakan and the Moriya.

The black-white turns to where the direction comes from and sees Reimu kneeling, examining a particularly large scroll strewn on the ground—the tengu-made map from earlier. "Yo, Reimu!" Marisa greets with her usual smile and happy tone of voice. Then, kneeling beside Reimu, she asks; "What is this, ze?"

"Our plan," says Reimu with a particularly businesslike tone. Tracing a finger to a small point on the map labelled the 'Nameless Hill', she says "I will go to this place first—that poisonous doll doesn't seem the least bit friendly and this may be yet another attempt by her to 'liberate' dolls from the 'slavery' of humans."

"And…?" asks Marisa, wondering if Reimu has a place for her to investigate; after all, Reimu said "I" and not "We".

"And you, Marisa…" the shrine maiden of paradise says, her brows furrowing. Slowly, she starts dragging a finger across the scroll, stopping at Koumakan. Marisa was about to take that this is where she is to go when Reimu narrows her brows even more and starts moving her finger again, dragging it slowly towards one direction until she passes by the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Finally, her finger rests on Eientei.

Marisa waits for a few more seconds in case the miko's hand starts moving again, but it seems like Reimu has decided; "Marisa, you…. you will go to Eientei and try to ask if they could somehow make a medical counter to this mist and whether they know about it."

"That's it, ze? Just go there and ask? No ass-whoopin' or blastin'?"

"Yes,", Reimu replies. "You go there and ask them for whatever itty-bitty details might be of use in resolving this incident. Use what you want—cross examination, blackmail, bribery, attack them… you know, that shit."

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Marisa says, beaming. "You do know that doing what you said might hurt our –your, rather- relations with Eientei, don't you?"

"I'm not Yukari. I don't care about negotiations. I prefer you go the peaceful way unless they resist, though.", Reimu blankly mutters, tying a few warding charms to her hair and making her look like a white-haired skirted version of a certain someone.

"Cool story sis, da ze!"

* * *

><p><strong>Gate to Meikai<strong>

The portal to The Netherworld is quite imposing, taking on the form of two richly decorated stone columns supporting two wood-and-iron gates suspended in mid-air, clouds covering it. Strangely, it looks the same when approached from the back as it does when approached from the front. Too make things even more puzzling, if you fly over it from the front, you somehow arrive in Meikai; also known as The Netherworld while if you fly over it from the back, you don't cross over to the land of the dead.

When the gates themselves are opened, if you were standing in front of it, it would swing out like any other gate, but when seen from the back, it stays static for some reason, as if it were still closed. This would make sense if there were two gates back-to-back, but unfortunately for mortal comprehension, there is only one gate up there, protected by a barrier.

Slowly, the hinges creak and the gate of the dead opens, allowing a glance to the dark and gloomy, but peaceful netherworld. Three figures promptly fly out of the gate, which then starts closing with yet more creaking.

Sayu is at the centre of the formation, still wearing Yuyuko's outfit and since the severing of her link with the Saigyou Ayakashi, has been able to fly perfectly well, though seems to fall into and out of a daze sometimes, her eyes going blank every now and then. To her right is Kotori, who was given new clothes by the ghost princess on a whim: apparently, her new apparel is a suit designed by Yukari for Youmu, but was rejected in favour of another one that the half-ghost's grandfather designed and created—the one design gardener has been sticking to for the entirety of her life under the Saigyouji, with only minor modifications as her body grew.

That aside, the suit Kotori now wears is composed of a green vest with black cross-laces over a slightly pink undershirt with puffy long sleeves and blue cuffs. Her skirt is green as well and matches the one on Youmu perfectly were it not decorated with a black ribbon at the bottom that weaves in and out of the hem skirt in a similar way to the ribbon on Reimu Hakurei's detached sleeves. One addition that wasn't in Yukari's original design is a pair of black-rim black-lens sunglasses that give her a look so cute and cool that it would make a certain outside-world fictional spy who loves vodka martini choke in shame. Of course, shaken; not stirred. They were supposed to go with a set of extra clothes that Yuyuko gave to Kotori because _'it's just not fashionable in Gensokyo'_. Namely, a fancy black vest with a rose on the chest pocket, a white shirt that is supposed to go underneath the vest and fancy black pants. For those who don't get it, it's a James Bond suit she got, and she got three of both sets of clothes.

Of course, considering it's Yuyuko, there has to be a reason for so many free clothes, but then again, who knows? She's not an exact clone of Yukari after all.

And, finally, with apologies for her late mention, the third person, to the right of Sayu, is none other than Konpaku Youmu, who was tasked by Yuyuko to _'escort them home'_. Behind her, as usual, is her ghost half, which seems to do nothing but fly close to her human body.

The three leave The Netherworld, expecting Gensokyo as usual; busy, playfully violent and friendly. However, what greeted them was a land of total silence—in the stead of the picturesque hills, rice fields, plains and forests filled with youkai is now a purple-tainted sleeping wonderland that looks even creepier and gloomier than Meikai itself. This is something that caught both Youmu and Kotori by surprise, as they never expected an event so large as this to happen in the few hours that they were in The Netherworld. Of course, Sayu, as always, is almost unreadable with a strange whimsical smile on her face.

…if it were not for the two swords sheathed at her waist, she would easily pass for Yuyuko, but be that as it may, she is indeed carrying them.

"What is happeni-ugh!"

Kotori suddenly starts getting dizzy, for the venom that has poisoned Gensokyo has already gone above the clouds and has started taking effect on the three. Youmu, with her swordsman's high metabolism, gets hit the hardest and starts losing consciousness before she could even utter a single word. And, as usual, Sayu keeps on hovering in the same spot with the strangest of smiles. It could be possible that she is not affected at all, but one would wonder why.

A second later, Youmu blacks out and starts falling, only to be caught by Sayu and held under one arm. Kotori soon follows and is caught as well. Shifting her gaze to Youmu on her left and Kotori on her right, to Youmu, then to Kotori, to Youmu again, and then back to Kotori, she sighs; "Ayayay~ Such trouble."

She stays there in mid-air for a few seconds, stiff and looking chibi-cute. After another second, she sighs and then tilts her head to the side as three question marks pop up in the air beside her. The question marks disappear with popping sounds and she straightens her neck as a light bulb flashes above her head.

…and with that, she swoops down to Gensokyo.

* * *

><p><strong>Nameless Hill<strong>

"So what's the plan now, _genius_?", Medicine quips upon seeing the appearance of the huge barriers within Gensokyo and the safe spots they created. It was _great_. _Just great!_ Just as she thought that she can finally free her comrades from the filthy, _filthy_ hands of those worthless humans, _this_ just has to happen.

Yukari slowly turns to face medicine, who is hovering several feet above the ground to her left, a smart grin on her face. "I find your lack of faith… disturbing," she says with a tone that is somehow stuck between a dark something with a bit of malice and amusement.

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Shrine<strong>

Hakurei Reimu watches as her best friend takes off and, even though she just experienced a painful crash not too long ago, speeds of at insane speeds towards the bamboo of the forest, turning her into a black spot in the purplish-blue sky and cutting a small path of clean air through the mist that is filled up again in no less than a second. For a moment, the red-and-white considers using some sort of wind to just blow the mist away, but then trashes the idea after remembering that Gensokyo is a tight enclosure, all of it covered with the mist.

Her hands on her waist, the miko turns her gaze to a part in the violet fog darker than the rest. She is about to take off when suddenly, she lets out a gasp; the barrier starts fluctuating, much to her surprise and shock: the red dome shakes as if there were an earthquake and starts turning fully transparent, then becomes red again, then back to transparent again, over and over for several seconds. While so, she stays where she was, taking in every detail of the event.

As soon as the barrier re-stabilises, Reimu flies off towards one of the wards instead and puts her hand to it, allowing her to evaluate the barrier's condition and see the barrier all the way to the microscopic level. What she finds out made her scream in shock and back up; the barrier is being _eaten_ by the mist, which appears to be a combination of toxins and small worm-like creatures, the latter of which are the ones doing the damage to the magical energies of the barrier, little by little destroying the flow of magic and letting the loose energies fly away.

"Darn!", she growls; she is back to square one, it seems: the barriers, which she hoped would protect Gensokyo's inhabitants is no more than just a temporary shield now, it seems. Whoever initiated this incident sure is smart and has planned in advance already—the culprit being someone like medicine is quite unlikely now and the doll youkai being her only suspect, she is left without a lead. It has to be someone as cunning and as skilled in magic as Eirin or maybe even Yukari to predict the creation of barriers AND create the proper countermeasure. But then again, Eirin is dedicated to saving lives, not ending them and likewise, Yukari loves Gensokyo's wellbeing too much to even put it in this much danger in the first place.

Frustrated, Reimu grabs her hair by the roots and screams in anger as she pulls at a masochistic level.

Marisa's surprised voice, a bit shaky and light, like as if it came from a walkie-talkie, says from a red-and-white yin-yang orb in one of the miko's skirt pockets, _"Reimu! Hey, what's up!",_ She had almost forgotten this—shortly before they parted, the miko had given the witch a communication orb; a decision that proved to be a good thing… vital, more like.

"Marisa, a change of plans," Reimu says out loud. "Come back to the shrine."

_"…okay."_

Reimu could hear through the orb a sudden change in the background noise and can tell that Marisa has just made a sharp turn, speeding once again towards the shrine that marks Gensokyo's eastern boundary. The miko sighs over her friend's careless flight habits before she departs to the half-built shrine, trying to think up of a new plan. An evacuation seems like the only plan plausible at this level, but the outside world would be too much of a bother, and Meikai is unfit for the living. She could go to Makai, but she also has another place in mind…

**To the next dream…**

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Meibilin, Sayu and Kotori belong to Zurocha**

**Written 2012:06:10~2012:07:03;** **日~火****曜日****UTC****+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: **

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Hello there! Zurocha here.

Finally, after a long hiatus, I managed to write and release the first chapter of the fourth arc: **_Embodiment of Torturous Death _**or, in short, **EoTD**.

"Embodiment" here refers to the Toxic Fog that initiated this incident while "Torturous Death" refers to the toxic nature of the fog. After all, slowly dying through the effects of poison has to be quite torturous, right?

The arc name itself is also a reference to Touhou 06: EoSD.

Oh, and I forgot to note this: I misspelled Eientei as "Eintei" in the previous chapters. I will be using the correct spelling from here on. I will also start referring to the SDM as Koumakan and the Palanquin as Seirensen. Oh, and don't forget Senkai—though I doubt it will be appearing anytime soon.

I also decided to release this chapter 1/2 done as recently, I've had reduced access to the laptop and I felt that I had people waiting for long enough already. Apologies to ye, but here's my sched:

月 School; No/minimal access to laptop; access to internet

火School; No/minimal access to laptop; access to internet

水School; No/minimal access to laptop; access to internet

木School; No/minimal access to laptop; access to internet

金School; No/minimal access to laptop; access to internet

土Access to laptop; no access to internet

日 Access to laptop; no access to internet

…Monday to Sunday, in order. I sleep in a house in the mountains, while my mother sleeps downtown. My mother owns and thus, brings the laptop, and she only sleeps at the mountain house during weekends, so yeah… sorry guys! Aside from that, she often uses the laptop herself, so "access to laptop" may be either "24-hour access to laptop" or "2-hour access to laptop or less."

* * *

><p>FOOTNOTES<p>

If you are wondering, I personally envision Gensokyo to be at least five hundred years old and not three/two hundred. Thus, they speak a different dialect of Japanese, uninfluenced by any of the so-called 'global' (European) languages. While their dialect might not necessarily be old, as it has evolved over the course of five hundred years, it may seem old to outside-world-Japanese speakers as it likely retains many archaic phrases. Likewise, Gensokyo natives might find modern Japanese 'old' as it also retains features that (may) have been lost in Gensokyo's Japanese. What I was implying by 'older than Gensokyo's (dialect)' is that the language is even older than what was spoken in Gensokyo five hundred years ago… likely a dialect of old Japanese? Anyways, in case you're confused, I'll just say that she's speaking Divine-Era Japanese.

For an understandable analogy, Gensokyo's Japanese is to the outside world's Japanese what Scottish is to English. Why? Scottish is a language that evolved from the northern dialect of Middle English. Since Gensokyo's Japanese (in my fic) likely evolved from late middle Japanese, then it's quite a good analogy.

The reason why outsiders can understand Gensokyo's Japanese is that while it's so different, it's still quite understandable and with some orientation (and, in Sanae's case, miracles and a divine mind), you can learn the local language.


	17. 2 : Ancestor

**_Embodiment of Torturous Death_**

**_2 : Ancestor_**

**_O~O  
><em>**

** The world is **

**a paradise. it is not at all**

** a terrible place.**

**the terrible facets of**

** death and hate**

**will fade into nothing as love and life will inevitably**

** rule the world.**

* * *

><p><strong>?<strong>

Underneath the Hakurei Shrine is a secret room, where mana streams from all over meet, forming a crossroads of energy from where one could do acts of magic normally impossible out in the open. Gensokyo has only a few of these spots; the aforementioned secret room, Voile, the Yakumo household, Senkai, Eientei and the Garden of the Sun, to name the most well-known ones. The mana streams stretch beyond Gensokyo and well into other realms such as Meikai, Makai, heaven and even the outside world; it's through where the mana streams cross the border from Gensokyo into the outside world that the barrier is the weakest, and therefore where the incidents of outsiders being spirited away into Gensokyo are most common.

As for the secret room, it is roughly ten metres by ten metres wide and two metres high. Once made with wood, ever since the shrine was destroyed in a celestial earthquake over ten years ago, the walls were replaced by stone and steel, honouring the choices of the one and only resident of the room. The room is sparsely decorated, with four rows of bookshelves dominating one wall, a study desk on another, on a corner, a large steel cauldron with a nearby rack containing all sorts of strange powders and potions and, in the centre of the room, a long keystone that digs through the floor and into the ground below, four lamps hanging on the roof area around it. It's accessible through a trapdoor that leads into the shrine's main room… though since the shrine itself has just been destroyed, the trapdoor leads now to open air instead.

The trapdoor is pulled open, letting sunlight pour in and the shrine maiden of paradise flies the room feet-first. Seeing the lamps lit, she closes the trapdoor behind her, shutting off the warm, natural glow of the sun and leaving the room to be illuminated with nothing but cold candlelight, as it has been for years on end. Reimu lands on the cold, stone floor and glances at the study desk- a person is there, a woman to be exact, hunching over the study desk, though Reimu, her eyes still blinded to the darkness, could only make out long green hair nearly reaching the ground.

The person does not seem to notice and carries on with whatever activity she is doing at the moment. Before long, Reimu's eyes get used to the darkness and could finally see the figure clearly, though she needs not a visual clue for her to identify the person in question; she's the only person to willingly stay holed up in such a dark, stale room: Mima Hakurei.

Mima was the third in the Hakurei line, a miko that had a great passion for magic and barely gave birth to a fourth Hakurei before her dabbling in magic turned her into a half-witch. No longer fit to be a shrine maiden, she was banished and a new miko not of the Hakurei line was put in her place to rear her successor; she did not even see her daughter, The fourth Hakurei, who was unaware of her mother's identity and mistook Mima for a youkai, killing her when the former miko came to visit the shrine. That led to a great anger consuming Mima just before her death, turning her into an evil spirit; the evilness of her eventually fading over time. Rather than being evil, she has been more of a mischievous ghost recently, though she is rarely seen due to her research.

She's also the foster mother and master of Marisa Kirisame and the developer of the original Master Spark, though that is another story.

"Mima," says the Hakurei miko, her tone cold and businesslike. She knows that the person in front of her is her ancestor, but she doesn't care and treats her like any other youkai. She has always seen the ghostly mage as Marisa's family and not her own, despite the very obvious lineage. She even considers her to be a pest when she ever gets out of the basement, what with her scheming and frustrating double-speak. If not for the fact that she's actually useful and that she doesn't want to upset Marisa, Reimu would have sealed the ghost already—one Yukari is already enough and Mima at times can be a bit like Yukari… come to think of it, so can Yuuka and Akyuu as well when the former has free time and the latter, if she had great magical powers and a more brutal personality.

The evil spirit pauses for a second, then resumes her activities—she's apparently writing, though as for what it is, one could guess. "Yes?", she replies without turning around to face her descendant.

"I wish to ask for your expertise—specifically, I wish for you to summon a dimension mirror," says Reimu as she slowly walks over to her hunched ancestor. "A dimension mirror?", asks Mima. The spirit straightens up and there's a short pause before she adds; "Why?"

Dimension mirrors are pools of energy superimposed on a surface—preferably a smooth, glassy one; usually mirrors. Their purpose is communication—through them, one could talk to just about anybody—assuming that the two individuals are both either on the same or in connected mana streams. As mana streams often jump between dimensions, once cal also use the 'mirrors' to talk to those outside of the caster's world, therefore the name "Dimension mirror" .They are very easy to maintain, but require advanced magic skills to be casted; Mima's one of the few in Gensokyo able to create dimension mirrors, the others being a certain Yuuka Kazami, the gap youkai Yukari Yakumo, the two goddesses of Youkai Mountain, the lunarian doctor at Eientei, Patchouli Knowledge and the tengu lord Tenma, though several others, such as the Satori of Chireiden and Kirisame Marisa can create small fields similar to dimension mirrors, though they could only show blurry images, as opposed to the clear image and sound true dimension mirrors provide.

"Gensokyo's in danger and I need to evacuate just about everyone to another realm, but before that, I must ask the master of the dimension I'm going to," states Reimu, her voice steady and firm.

"Ah, I see…", muses Mima. "Come with me."

The ghostly mage puts down her pen on a small bronze pen-holder, passes through her chair, hovers towards the keystone, and then pulls a heavy square block of stone at its base, revealing a wooden trapdoor underneath. "The mana streams are strongest fifty feet below this here room," says Mima, then, as she opens the apparently creaky trapdoor, she remembers that she did not put a ladder inside this trapdoor. "I assume you can fly? I can carry you down there if you can't."

As Mima said, the magical crossroads they are in are at their strongest fifty feet below—the lines have a tendency to occur deep underground. They are the cause of many differences amongst those people who move around underground. And, since there really is no ladder, chances are, it's a fifty-foot drop to the bottom of the dark, lightless chamber.

"Yes, I can, thank you," says Reimu, her eyebrows twitching. "How else do I solve incidents? I'm flying my way in, thank you."

A smile crept on to the spirit's face. "I seem to have stated it wrong—can you _fly_ in a field of magical turbulence that can knock all but the most experienced to the ground and drive their magical energies haywire."

Reimu promptly paled- she had never flown in such conditions as her ancestor had described and as she said, it would be risky for the miko because of her lack of experience.

"Alright then, carry me, oh great _ancesto- _eep!."

Reimu suddenly found herself being carried bridal-style in the arms of the Mima, who then jumps into the hole, exposing her to a barrage of magical pressure and turbulence that she had never experienced before and she suddenly found herself both energised and nauseous. It's one of the more notorious effects of these magical crossroads and the reason the evil spirit had her study so close to the surface, just under the shrine, one would say. The crossroads usually consist of a very stable epicentre with a very high concentration of magic, akin to the eye of the storm, surrounded by a very violent field of magic usually eighty to a hundred feet in diameter with energies just slightly less concentrated compared to the stable core; The Hakurei Shrine and Mima's study are within the top ten feet of this field and therefore are mostly safe from the effects of the static energies that the turbulence creates.

Reimu realizes how lucky she was that she's being carried through this storm looks up at Mima; despite the dizzying forces battering them, the mage is as steady as she always is, and for a second, she fills up with admiration for this ancestor of hers; she couldn't even imagine flying through such a storm so steadily. Granted, Reimu did fly through a storm—and she was nearly blown away; this one, while not composed of winds and cold rain, must be fifty times fiercer even.

"How do you do it?", asks Reimu before she cups her mouth—she almost vomited then and there. "Pardon?", asks Mima, her voice as easy as it is on the surface.

"How do you fly through this… urk."

"Experience, mine bairn~ I tried flying through this field for a long time already and for the first… six hundred and forty three times, I always fell to the ground; lucky I'm a spirit or else I'd be dead! But then again, I'm already dead- my daughter killed me, you know. Not that she knew I was her mother, but…"

"Oh," says Reimu. She's definitely going to ask for the name of her ancestor that killed Mima—she may have been told of her mother's identity after Mima's death and she may have become a vengeful spirit… if she did, she's going to make sure that she ascends. Chances are, it was never told to her, there's always the possibility…

* * *

><p><strong>?<strong>

Konpaku Youmu was almost shocked speechless when she regains consciousness; her body felt heavy, as if it were made of pure steel, a dull ache pulsing through her entire being in synch with a head-splitting headache. She opens her eyes and they are greeted by an unfamiliar wooden roof; this was not the Hakurei Shrine or Hakugyokurou, for all she knows.

"Ungh, my head…", moans someone beside her. Pushing her upper body off the ground, she glances to her side and sees a white-haired girl a bit shorter than her that looks somewhat familiar…. But she just can't put a finger on it.

The girl opened her eyes, both as snow-white as her hair and apparently, she felt the half-ghost's stare for she turns her head and, upon seeing Youmu beside her, asks; "Youmu-san?"

The lines in the half-ghost's head connect and she instantaneously recognises the youkai before her: Kotori Shimada, a youkai of unknown nature she met and got to know quite a bit when Kotori's master visited The Netherworld a while ago. She remembers escorting the pair outside of The Netherworld feeling sick when she left the gate.

Youmu rubs her forehead with her left hand, then drops said hand to the wooden floor and feels something soft brush against it. She grabs and then takes a look at it, her movements still sluggish. It is a piece of paper and by the way it is folded and the small bits of text visible, it appears to be a letter… and a well-written one as well.

"Hey, Kotori, take a look at this," says Youmu as she drags her aching body towards the other white-head in the room and shows her the letter. It is written in a very graceful calligraphy and reads as;

**_D_****_ɛ_****_ar Cotori önd Youmu_**

**_It _****_ʃ_****_ɛɛ_****_ms _****_ð_****_at G_****_ɛ_****_n_****_ʃocyo is cou_****_ɛ_****_r_****_ɛ_****_d by a ʃtrang_****_ɛ_****_ purpl_****_ɛ_****_ miʃt ðat app_****_ɛars_****_ to b_****_ɛ_****_ quit_****_ɛ_****_ harmful- I notiʃ_****_ɛ_****_d ðis _****_ƿ_****_han you _****_ƿ_****_ɛ_****_nt to ʃl_****_ɛɛ_****_p _****_ƿ_****_han y_****_ɛ_****_ toc it in ðin_****_ɛ_****_ br_****_ɛ_****_aþ _**

**_Youmu, ðou art in min_****_ɛ_****_ huʃ_****_ɛ_****_, in ð_****_ɛ_****_ etung room. Y_****_ɛ_****_ may coc your food if y_****_ɛ_****_ b_****_ɛ_****_ hungry._**

**_I hau_****_ɛ_****_ cr_****_ɛ_****_at_****_ɛ_****_d a barri_****_ɛ_****_r ðat ʃhall prot_****_ɛ_****_ct y_****_ɛ_****_ from ð_****_ɛ_****_ miʃt. Pl_****_ɛ_****_aʃ_****_ɛ_****_ don't go outʃid_****_ɛ_****_ b_****_ɛ_****_cauʃ_****_ɛ_****_ ð_****_ɛ_****_ barri_****_ɛ_****_r is u_****_ɛ_****_ry ʃtrong. It _****_ƿ_****_ill cill you ʃhould y_****_ɛ_****_ try to touch it _****_ö_****_nd ð_****_ɛ_****_ miʃt is ʃtill ð_****_ɛ_****_r_****_ɛ_****_._**

**_L_****_o_****_c for m_****_ɛ_****_ na_****_ɛ_****_ önd pardon if min_****_ɛ_****_ hand b_****_ɛɛ_****_n rouʒ_**

**_早チャン_**

"Can you read it?", asks Youmu after she finishes reading the very much incomprehensible letter. It's a very strange handwriting- f in place of s and a variety of strange glyphs she couldn't understand here and there. Why leave a letter behind if no-one can read it?

Of course, Youmu couldn't read it. However, Kotori had mastered Sayu's peculiar handwriting and spellings, having stayed with the 'human' for a whole week and having gone through a pile of paper that would be enough to mark them as a book, all in her hand. It was a real headache-bringer at first, but then she got used to it over time.

"I can," says Kotori, then she explains; "Sayu-sama's saying that the two of us are in the house that we built and that we may cook our food if we wish. Gensokyo is also… covered with a purple mist that she says is harmful and… we're being protected by a barrier that can kill us if we try to get out. And, finally, she's saying that we shouldn't look for her and she apologises if her hand is rough."

"Oh," says Youmu- that explains a bit, though she disagrees about the handwriting being rough— the unintelligibility aside, Youmu could swear that Sayu's handwriting can be quite nice to look at… calligraphy, one could say.

"So I guess we're stuck here," groans Youmu. It was just great… now she's stuck here with no way to go back to The Netherworld—what's Yuyuko going to think? What with her disappearing like that… will she think that she switched masters? Who's going to cook for her? Buy new stocks? Oh, her master's gluttony is no secret… but who's going to watch over her now?

"For the time being it seems, yes," replies Kotori as Youmu lets her heavy, tired self down on the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>Fifty feet under the Hakurei Shrine<strong>

"Ready?", asks Mima as she pats Reimu's back. They are at the bottom of the eerily dark fifty-foot-deep room and are in the magical crossroads' epicentre. It's quite calm, but the turbulence they encountered on the way down made Reimu go dizzy for a very long while and nearly made her vomit on the floor, which appears to be made out of a magical crystal—Mima's creation, her reason for using this material on the room's floor and walls being that the crystal will allow for clearer communications should she wish to use a dimensional mirror as the clarity of the dimensional mirrors depend mostly on the concentration of magical energy: the crystal –diamond- serves to trap half of the energy that gets in, as well as reducing the turbulence.

"Yes," replies Reimu, whose breaths come in long and hard; aside from the turbulence driving her dizzy, the magical pressure of the place, which must be over ten times stronger than even Makai's atmospheric magic, which is at least four times stronger than Gensokyo's own atmospheric pressure, is filling her with a new and terrible strength. She's terrified that she might do something that may do permanent damage and she wonders if this is what the top five strongest beings in Gensokyo feel every day. Sure, she beat them and she's number five tied with four, but that's because, her natural strength cast aside, the spell card rules are also there to protect her life. The other four, which would be Yukari, Yuuka, Mima and Eirin, in order, could kill her in battle should the rules be removed.

Mima nods once, conjures an oval pure diamond mirror which promptly shoots out of the floor in front of her and then starts muttering incantations. A shimmering screen of silver light appears just above the diamond, silvery plumes of magic shooting into the air, bending like smoke in the presence of wind when they go beyond the calm epicentre of the crossroads. A sound like wind blowing fills the empty room, which was illuminated by the mirror's light.

After a few seconds, Mima stopped her incantations, the plumes disappearing and the silvery surface turning into a glowing oval surface over the diamond mirror; a newly opened dimensional mirror. "It's done. Put your hand on the mirror and think of the person you want to talk with," says Mima as she backs off.

Reimu curtly nods, walks over to the mirror and then places her hand on the glowing surface. She feels a strange tingling in her hand, like there were ants crawling under her skin as the silver light consumes her limb all the way to the elbow. The shrine maiden forces a mental image and the mirror responds, warping until it shows an dimly-lit empty room with dark hardwood walls.

"Oh, Reimu!", comes an apparently surprised woman's voice from the other side of the mirror. "You want to talk to me?"

A curtain of white cloth goes in front of the mirror, but, just before the person in the other side could show her face, the room's magic whirls into a tornado as one of Gensokyo's greatest mana streams fluctuate and the screen starts showing static, though Reimu could still hear the person breathing through the mirror.

"What's happening?", asks the person, her voice showing confusion and a little bit of shock.

* * *

><p>The disrupted mana stream in question flows north from the Hakurei Shrine's crossroads towards the Youkai Mountain before forming a large southward swooping curve that passes through the nameless hill, branches into two streams, one flowing directly into Voile's crossroads and the other going eastwards around the Human Village, bypasses Myouren, where it absorbs a smaller mana stream that passes through the temple, then surfaces at the Forest of Magic before flowing southwards once again and gets inside the Bamboo Forest, where it surfaces several times, one of these being the location of Sayu's incomplete house before it dives deep underground one last time and enters the crossroads under Eientei, and from there, is connected to another stream that flows directly south to who-knows-where.<p>

The reason for the disruption is that just outside her unfinished house and its border, a very spent Sayu stabbed her karis –Agakara- into the ground and was draining magical energies from the mana stream in order to replenish her own energies, and she was doing so at a very rapid pace. At the same time, 'upstream' from her location, Yukari was also absorbing energies from the stream in order to support her fog; trident stabbed into the ground to serve as a magical aerial.

Absorbing magic from mana streams is a skill that every advanced magician or those with enough magical literacy can use; it is a very effective method of regaining mana without having to wait for either atmospheric mana or self-generated magic to replenish one's stocks and allows for rapid usage of very draining spells. However, it has the disadvantage of interfering with all communications that are being run through the stream being used and can, if overdone, change the shape of the mana stream.

Mana streams are merely rivers of energy that flow around existence, flowing just about anywhere they desire; as they do so, they absorb excess atmospheric energy and release some of their own in magic-deprived spots, almost like actual rivers. And, like rivers, they move in one direction and have their own points of origin; most of them in realms like Gensokyo and Makai, with a comparative few in the outside world. These rivers of magic contain limited amounts of energy, like rivers of water, and should one take too much from one part, then the stream will be cut and the upstream half, which would be the side that has the point of origin in it, will try to find a way to reconnect with the downstream half. Usually, they will reconnect in the same form as they were before they were split, but at times, the upstream side will move to the sides and make a completely new stream before it reconnects with the downstream side… if ever. Such changes can even destroy magical crossroads or change their intensity, and this would have great consequences to the mages that stake their claims in or near streams and crossroads.

It's a good thing that the mana stream both Sayu and Yukari are drawing from is an exceptionally large one; one of the largest in existence, and at most, the only changes they can do to it is the creation of small magic-free islands that will easily recover in time.

Even so, they both managed to disrupt Reimu's communications.

* * *

><p><strong>Fifty feet under the Hakurei Shrine<strong>

Despite the disruption, Reimu had gone on with her conversation; loss of visual communication aside, they could still communicate verbally quite well, though not without static here and there.

"So, you mean that you will bring Gensokyo's residents here in our realm because there is some kind of killer mist all over the place and if you don't get them out of there before you solve this incident, there will only be corpses around, am I right?"

"Yes," replies the miko. "What do you think?"

"I, well… I think you should at least try to create defensive wards first. I think that will keep most of you safe."

"I tried that already," says Reimu with an indignant tone. "Whoever made this mist is smart—it eats away at the barriers I have had people set up all over Gensokyo."

There is a long silence, the only sound being the steady static of the disrupted dimension mirror, then the person on the other side speaks, her voice raising a note at the last two syllables. "Bring them here then."

The screen fizzles out as the communication is cut and Mima places a hand on the miko's shoulder. "Come, let's get out of here."

The only thought that ran through the miko's head as the evil spirit scoops her off the ground is; '_not again._'

**To the next dream…**

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Yukari [Kasumi], Sayu[ndobiigahujan Ginsapamatosin] and Kotori [Simada] belong to Zurocha**

**Written 2012:07:07~2012:07:08;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: My Auntie Jessie Lai and Uncle Yiu Ming for giving my mother dried seaweed to bring back home from Hong Kong for me.**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Made in two days! Woo hoo~ A record!

Yeah… I don't think this is my best, most of the chapter being made up of explanations about mana streams and such, but I think it will pick up pace next chapter and yup, that Sayu over there draining from the stream. You can't expect her to use so much power for two days and still be full of energy, right? Well, she would have been, but then she did that...

But you know, it's for the best. ^,^

As always, I humbly plead for reviews~ _ʃ_(6_,_6)_ʃ_

* * *

><p>FOOTNOTES<p>

I dunno… nothing this time?

Oh wait.. yeah. The letter. It is read as:

**_Dear Kotori and Youmu_**

**_It seems that Gensokyo is covered by a strange purple mist that appears to be quite harmful- I noticed this when you went to sleep when ye took it in thine breath._**

**_Youmu, thou art in mine house, in the dining room. You (two) may cook your food if ye be hungry._**

**_I have created a barrier that shall protect ye from the mist. Please don't go outside because the barrier is very strong. It will kill you should ye try to touch it and the mist is still there._**

**_Look for e not and pardon if my hand is rough._**

**_Sayu-chan_**

Note that in the old English alphabet, these characters are:

**_Ƿ = w_**_ as in **w**ine or **v** as in **v**ine [Wynn; minuscule looks like p in print and like a half-size D in handwriting.]_

**_ʃ = s _**_as in **s**ilk [Long S] [**ʃs **is** ß**. Example: A**ʃs**et = A**ß**et. Asset]_

**_ð = th_**_ as in **th**em [Eth] [looks like reverse 6 with a small stroke on top.]_

**_þ = th_**_ as in **th**umb [Thorn] [looks like a mix between b and p.]_

**_C = k _**_as in **k**ing OE _**_C_**_ynƿynd/**C**ynwynd__ [C]_

**_ʒ _**_= **ch** as in German Na**ch**t English; Ni**gh**t [Yoch/Yogh] [looks like the numeral 3.]_


	18. 3: Marisa's Evacuation Mission

**_Embodiment of Torturous Death_**

**_3 : Marisa's Evacuation Mission_**

**_O~O  
><em>**

**_Bring to me the sick and the poor, for I shall eat them._**

**_Bring to me the healthy and rich, for I shall feed them._**

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Jinja<strong>

_"An evacuation?", asks Marisa, her voice rising from plain disbelief. "All of Gensokyo? Are you mad, ze?"_

_'It's just great', Marisa thought. You can trust these shrine maidens to make these kinds of sudden changes in well-set plans at the last second—she was about to go to Eientei. Yes, Eientei, the house of eternity. Their original plan was to go around everywhere and ask people about the strange mist, and she was about to go to the first stop, guns… err, hakkero blazing when she was called back into the shrine. _

_The witch feels sad for her lost amusement; Reimu said that she should only use force as a last resort in Eientei, but retrieving information crucial for such an important incident gives her a good reason for blasting the manor-slash-infirmary, something she always wanted to do, as she never blasted half of it off. Granted, she did destroy a huge part of it a long time ago when the moonies did some heebie-jeebies to the moon and stopped the full moon from coming, but she only razed a little bit of it –two rooms- with her Master Spark._

_Compare it to Hakugyokurou, which she 'accidentally' sliced in half four times when the ghost princess stole spring, or the Scarlet Devil Mansion, whose roof she caved in during the scarlet mist incident… or even the Moriya Shrine, which she… well, Reimu was to blame as well, with her directly attacking the shrine itself, but at the end of the incident that involved said shrine, it was a spectacular heap of rubble… the culprit even had to stay at the Hakurei Shrine for two days, after which they returned only to be met with a playful Suwako Moriya, and her battle with the second goddess levelled it a second time._

_All that destruction was done with her Master Spark, except in the Moriya incident, where Reimu was involved, but still…! It would have been a real ego-booster to see such an important and huge place as the eternity manor fall before her Master Spark. What other way to show your superiority? Reimu had it easy, all right, what with her being the fourth strongest entity in Gensokyo… a title she was respected for. Marisa, however, at sixth place, just below the stupid liar reporter, is much less recognised. It's just unfair, she would say. She even beat Reimu once._

_…even if said win was because her puppeteer friend, Alice, helped attack the miko._

_"Yes," says Reimu. "As I said, the barriers won't last, so we're going to evacuate every single living soul from Gensokyo."_

_…and, you can trust these shrine maidens to make such stupid plans. It's just plain impossible to get all of those in Gensokyo that live and breathe; it's at least twenty of thirty miles wide, with youkai and humans in every nook and cranny. What's more, Reimu expected her to warn everyone in Gensokyo to get out in **one** day. One!_

_Even if Marisa were so fast that she could fly around the outer perimeters of Gensokyo sixty times in twenty-four hours, she couldn't just fly through the paradise, screaming 'get your flaming arses out of this bloody place,' she'd be too far out of sight for one to even consider what they heard. At best, a few will understand what she said and go to the Hakurei Shrine… but then more likely than not, the majority will merely turn up their heads to the skies and dismiss it as an illusion._

_Reimu's plans rarely fail, credits going to her good judgement and intuition, but then again, she may have lost a pawn or two in this scheme, likely because she panicked or was in a hurry when making up this new plan… besides, where to go to? There is Makai, but there are likely a few demons in the realm that hold grudges towards those from Gensokyo for driving them out when they merely wanted to explore as tourists. Likely, a few of Gensokyo will also resent those of Makai for the supposed 'invasion' long ago and will view their retreat into the world as a counter invasion and more likely than not, the views of these two groups would start a war under the noses of Reimu and Shinki, both in good terms with each other, but with little knowledge about the views of their responsibilities to the other._

_"And tell them to assemble at the area between Myouren and Hitozato; You, Mokou, Keine and the Kappa will separate the humans from the youkai," says Reimu, explaining the more vital parts to her magician friend. "And have the tengu help you."_

_And as it seems, the shrine maiden has some common sense as well; the one and only tengu Reimu could be referring to is Shameimaru Aya, who was resting inside the shrine's safe dome, leaning against the half-built shrine she helped create. Employing the tengu for this mission would be a good move; the dragon-general move that ensures the capture of the king. Not only is the tengu faster than the witch, but recently, her articles, though still full of lies and more of an amusement magazine than an actual newspaper, has been a bit more truthful and thus gained some, though shaky trust amongst the humans and youkai of Gensokyo._

_The tengu is also known as a rapid writer and if she is to mass-type leaflets that she and the witch will scatter around Gensokyo, the evacuation message will be easily sent and with this, the youkai will not be able to raise their faces to the sky and dismiss the roll call for evacuation as a figment of the imagination, for the evidence shall be there right in their hands._

_Reimu simply kept a pawn in hand, after all._

* * *

><p><strong>Myourenji Courtyard<strong>

"…and that's the reason why I'm asking you to please join the crowd gathering outside," says Marisa to the head monk of the Myouren Temple, Hijiri Byakuren.

Hijiri Byakuren is a thousand-year-old-woman with the ageless body of a twenty four year old lady. She was –and is- a monk-slash-magician, who went insane in search of a cure against death and aging when she saw her own brother, who was a monk as well, die. In time, she found her cure in the form of youkai-hood, and was in time, cured of her insanity. She was sealed for a long time by humans who decided to do away with her upon discovering her youkai nature; they had known her as a youkai exterminator, one who saves them from the plague that are the youkai. In truth, she merely saved them and gave them a chance to live a peaceful life as her follower. Not too long ago –around thirteen or so years ago-, a loyal band of her followers freed her and, with the help of the two resident shrine maidens and the black-white witch, set up a new temple near the Human Village. All was going well, despite the incidents that always happen to haunt the land every now and then, but then the deadly mist had to intervene.

As for Byakuren, she wears a black cross-laced vest over a white dress with puffy sleeves, which constricts her chest quite a bit. She may be a monk, but that doesn't stop people from ogling her now and then; she has a breast size not often seen… only a wee bit larger than a bowling ball. It would be no surprise if a few of her new 'followers' joined so that they could stare at her breasts every now and then. As for her lower garments, she wears a black skirt that reaches her ankle. Her shoes are black as well, with cross-laces and white socks.

Her hair is an unusual style as well; something one could rarely see, even amongst the youkai and humans native to Gensokyo, both groups known to harbour some particularly interesting eye and hair colours; the monk's hair starts purple, and then slowly fades to brown as it ripples down like a waterfall of gold.

Byakuren crosses her hands in front of her chest as she considers Marisa's message. The witch ran out of flyers a while ago and was about to go to the shrine to get some more when she decided to give the message personally to Byakuren in her own words; she was right next to Myourenji then.

The head monk thinks over her situation: true, she had a defensive barrier around her temple, but if Marisa's words are to be taken as truth, then the shrine maiden on the hill did find the barriers temporary defences. One shouldn't take Marisa's words as truth so easily, but in situations like these, even if Marisa were to put a jest or two into her words, she does mean what she says.

She looks over at the supposed gathering area, which contains a huge tract of land between the Human Village, the Bamboo Forest and the Hakurei Shrine, and one tally goes to Marisa's truthfulness count; a gigantic barrier has been set up around it. She had seen the Hakurei's new assistant -a girl with a trident that somehow reminds her of a certain nue- run all over the spot, placing small wards all over; she assumes that those wards are the ones projecting this particular barrier.

"Alright, I'll go," says the monk. "I'll help keep the more vicious youkai away from the humans as well. Shou?"

Having heard the monk call her name, a tiger youkai behind Byakuren takes one step forward. She has short hair the colour of the sun, wears a tiger-patterned sleeveless robe over a white dress with puffy sleeves, a white scarf around her neck, and on her left hand, a long brown spear with a golden tip. "Yes, miss Hijiri?"

"Please summon all of our disciples and have them help keep the humans away from the man-eating youkai," says Byakuren, her voice even and controlled.

"Yes," says the tiger youkai before she disappears into the hallways of the temple behind them with even steps.

The girl was Toramaru Shou, a youkai that serves Byakuren as the impersonation of Bishamonten in Gensokyo. She's ever faithful to her lady and would never dare to disobey a single order from her. in a way, she's a bit like Sakuya, despite being effectively a god herself.

"Boy, you sure have some good ones under your hand," comments Marisa as she adjusts her unreasonably wide-brimmed witch's hat. She eases herself onto her broom, and then takes off towards the Hakurei Shrine. "See ya, ze!", she says as she disappears, leaving behind one smiling monk, who whispers a silent thank you as a small dust cloud appears on the Hakurei Shrine.

* * *

><p><strong>Hakurei Jinja<strong>

"Uwaaaaahhhh!"

The black-white youkai that is Marisa screams her lungs out as she took the shrine grounds' painful embrace head on… once more, this time actually having tilted her broom's nose too high up, which made the brush of the broom slap the ground and sent her broom spinning in a similar fashion to what occurred earlier, though this time it was less severe as she jumped off the broom at the first tilt and slammed against the ground once instead of being repeatedly hammered against it had she not let go.

It was supposed to be her latest breaking tactic, though, like many others before it, it fails; one would wonder why the witch doesn't brake using magic instead, which is safer and easier for a magician of great skill such as her.

The broom flew away towards one particularly busy Shameimaru Aya and nearly hit the typewriter and fliers she had been slaving over for the past thirty minutes or so. The crow tengu gave a yelp of surprise as the broom bounced over her head and gave her bottom a painful whack. "Ayayayayaya!"

She turned around to the direction from where the broom came from and veins appeared on her forehead as she saw the black-white get off the ground. The witch has been speeding alright, well, she's always speeding. She just had to crash in the tengu's general direction and it was just by some fleeting luck that her beloved typewriter was not hit. "What's the idea, _rat_?" she yells at the Kirisame Marisa., a tone of outrage easily evident in her voice.

"Hey," Marisa shouted back as she shook a fist over her head. "It's your fault you were writing on my beloved runway!"

"Oh, now there's a runway?" returned the reporter, her voice tinged with faked disbelief.

Reimu Hakurei, who was kneeling several feet away and writing down sufficient repellent charms for the mixed youkai and human crowd, turns her head to see the two bickering like they would die if they ever lose against the other. Well, their pride would be wounded, but that's really nothing.

The miko notes the broom on the ground behind Aya, stares at it, and then realised that Marisa, as always, came speeding into the shrine and crashed majestically, though it seems she managed to have avoided becoming cripple for a while. Having witnessed for the umpteenth time yet another example her friend's recklessness, Reimu gave herself a majestic facepalm. "She never learns, doesn't she?" she moans.

Reimu tried to return to her charm-making, but she couldn't seem to focus on it; she gave the two another glance and could see quite visibly that their little back-and-forth argument had turned into a humorous fight, with Marisa chasing Aya around with a hammer over her head, to which the crow tengu responded by tossing a safe over Marisa. The witch came out shaped like the box that the safe was, recovers and then resumed tussling with the tengu like a cartoon character. With a sigh, she silently activates under her breath one of her cure-all spells. Half a second later, a pillar of golden light erupts from underneath the youkai equivalents of Tom and Jerry.

"Stop yer yapping and get yer bloody hands on them papers, ye two!" Reimu screamed in her thickest old Gensokyo-an Japanese while still kneeling, paper and brush in hand. "Ye two have it easier than me, so move it!", she adds as she glared at the two. Of course, she learned old Gensokyo-an Japanese when Yakumo Yukari forced her to study her ancestors' records. The language used in the first few records was quite old, though still much younger than that of Sayu.

Both tengu and magician suddenly felt a cold chill creep up their spines as they saw the dangerously sweet sparkle in the miko's eyes. Having picked up on the message immediately, the black-white started picking up the finished fliers before flying off while the crow tengu returned to her insane speed-typing, with chills shaking their bodies.

* * *

><p>Around three hours after Marisa talked to Byakuren, the 'small' safe space became crowded as all Humans and nigh all Youkai of Gensokyo huddle together in what little space there was. Given that Gensokyo is tens of kilometres in size, with one major and up to eight or more minor human settlements and a horde of small, but numerous youkai settlements as well as over thousands of youkai clans, Reimu had to eventually make the one-and-half-mile protected area twice as large as she originally had it be. Even so, the land and the skies were brimming to the point of bursting; the humans and human-friendly youkai on the ground, with questionable ones high up and in between, the tengu and youkai appointed to be the humans' guardians.<p>

Except for a few youkai drooling at the barred banquet before them, Everyone's attentions were directed on four figures standing on top of the Hakurei Shrine's torii: Hakurei Reimu, Yasaka Kanako, Moriya Suwako and Kirisame Marisa.

They had just given their speech and everyone was informed of the circumstances. A few –especially the humans- were having doubts whether they could get to the escape point before the toxic fog eats up the ultra-strong barrier Reimu personally reinforced. By the Shrine maiden's calculations, it should last up to two days, and their trek, which would take them to Gensokyo's far south, would take half a day. That is, if the ground were flat. The humans and their guardians wonder how they would get through, since a mountain range was in their way, and to take a detour around it –the humans reckon- would take five days—more than twice as long as the barrier's life span.

Of course, Reimu could just repair it, but it would be too taxing for the miko to constantly repair such a huge barrier every one and half days, so they have to go straight. One thing that the shrine maiden did not tell the crowd was that the mountain range actually encircles their target area, and that it would be impossible to get through it if one could not fly…

"Everybody!" called out Reimu, her voice amplified by a small spell cast by Marisa. Unfortunately, the witch amplified the miko's voice too much, and even the goddesses nearby thought that they would have had to pay their respects to their ears' tombstones. Reimu stayed still, apparently unaffected while her magician friend, may her ears rest in peace, was blown down to the ground.

"Ouchies," moaned Marisa while scratching her head and slapping her ears at the same time. "I think I'm deaf."

Reimu seemed to share no sympathy for her friend's plight and shouts, "It's your fault, you know! You even deafened all of the humans near the shrine!"

Marisa blinks, and then tilted her head. "Can you please repeat that, Reimu? I can't hear you."

The witch suddenly felt her skull crack in two, her senses dulling and stars flashing in front of her eyes. Reimu had hit her with her gohei. "I know you're not deaf, idiot!" whispered Reimu in a sweetly dangerous voice. "So get your arse up there and help me talk with the crowd."

Despite having acted and essentially stated her loss of hearing, the witch somehow heard the shrine maiden's nearly-silent whisper. Breaking in a cold sweat, she jumped and gave a courteous salute, then flew back to the top of the torii, preparing a new spell, one that would spread Reimu's voice as opposed to amplifying it.

A minute after, the crowd's eyes and ears were still set on the torii—even those that could even barely see the four figures seated on top. Reimu started talking about making sure that no-one leaves the barrier, then….

"Alright, everybody. All set? Follow me to the south."

Reimu took off, followed closely by the goddesses and the witch, flying in a triangle formation, with Reimu at the lead, Suwako at the right, Kanako at the left, and Marisa at the back. Unfortunately for the witch, Reimu was wearing jeans that Yukari smuggled from across the border from the outside world under that skirt of hers, not that the witch was even interested in seeing up her underwear in the least. Rather, she had a nigh-undetectable spy camera attached to her hat; despite being rich like hell already, she accepted a few male and surprisingly, female youkai's pleas for the witch to take at least one panty-shot. A certain kappa gave the spy camera without question when a certain flower youkai, who was one of those who asked for a photo, did some small talk.

'_Darn. There goes my easy money.'_

Lucky for her, she did not say it out loud, nor did a certain Satori on the ground tell Reimu about Marisa's dealing out Reimu without her consent to the dirty-minded male and one questionable female youkai. Suwako and Kanako looked at Marisa, and then rolled their eyes twice, apparently ignoring the black-white's voyeurism. Safe, she was, but the witch did not realise how lucky she was. Heck, she wasn't even thinking what would happen if Reimu found out.

Carefully, she removed the spy camera, and no-one noticed her. She's already very lucky, one would say. Goddesses have sharp eyes and it was by sheer chance that she was not found out… or was it?

Actually, the two goddesses also had their eyes trained on Reimu's undergarments, only to avert them in disappointment when they noticed that she was wearing quite… protective legwear. In fact, when they rolled their eyes at Marisa, it was the signal for her to abort her mission.

The two goddesses were involved? Why, yes! Indeed, a handful of male, as well as one female youkai that originally proposed to Marisa, but when the two goddesses found out, they demanded that they have copies of Reimu's underwear shots as well, lest they bust her. It's quite strange, since the two already have their own shrine maiden to gawk at, so it's likely the pictures were to be used as blackmail, but even though Marisa suspected so, she cared about it not one bit.

She just wanted the money. It could be that with the money she would have gained from the panty-shots, she would be able to secretly give Reimu donations at night so she would see her sweet smile in the morning while the rest of her money –which she stated she does not need- are kept as inheritance in case she has children, though it's also possible that it was the prospect _earning_ money that urged her to accept the deal, as opposed to growing her already huge stock reserves, almost all of which were from the things she sold to Kourindou.

After all, there's a certain satisfaction from gaining something from hard work that one could not gain from money gained by selling junk. Money gained the hard way has a certain value –emotional or otherwise- that easy money does not, as well as a certain attachment that often makes such money harder to spend.

Her older human self might have cringed at "selling" Reimu off like so, but somehow, after she became a youkai, it's like her restraints and already-questionable morals loosened quite a bit, and she found herself doing things that she might have not done before the transformation, but enough of that and Marisa; let us now turn to Reimu's side of the story.

She could feel that something was amiss. She does not know why, whether it be from the actions of her rivals-turned-temporary-allies or those of her most trusted now-youkai friend, but her intuition says so. It has never been off in the past; something is always wrong when it says so.

The two goddesses and the youkai witch have been eerily silent. In fact, the three exchanged not even a single word and frankly, Reimu expected the three to be chattering in flight. She couldn't be blamed for her expectations at all; in fact, anyone would bet on a noisy flight should they have noticed how chatty the three were before the crowd gathered.

Reimu supposed the cause to be the procession itself, and assumed that the three were watching out for any flesh-eating youkai that might catch the occasional straggler. She comforted herself with the thought, but even so, something was wrong… _really wrong_. Still, she pushed the strange discomfort aside and kept on flying normally.

After an hour, their first and only obstacle finally presented itself in the form of a tall mountain, not taller than the Youkai Mountain, but surely nearly as high as well. The procession has sped up midway when they encountered the Forest of Magic, which the humans could not have risked walking through. The human-friendly youkai, of which there were a surprising lot, then carried them through the air over the forest and did so since then.

Reimu stopped when she was at the base of the gigantic mound of soil. Unlike the Youkai Mountain, which had predominantly hard blue rocks and therefore an azure hue in addition to being stable, this mountain had rust-coloured rocks that look like they could collapse at the slightest pressure and had a much gentler slope than the Youkai Mountain. The humans could not dare to walk over it, lest they run the risk of a sand-slide, nor could the youkai carrying them risk lifting the humans over the peak, for the lower amount of oxygen higher up would tire them much faster with the load underneath them.

The youkai and men started rumbling behind the shrine maiden. "Reimu of Hakurei, did you bring us out here so that we could die sandy graves?", cried out a young man in his mid-twenties, followed soon after by a woman yelling, "We'd rather die in the Human Village, where those who survive shall see our bones, and not in this desolate land!"

Little by little, the crowd started grumbling amongst themselves, and a few youkai even complained that the humans dying in such a place would starve them, since any meal they might had would be stolen by the soft sands of the mountain. The shrine maiden turned around in exasperation, giving a quick glance to Suwako, who nods, before she turned her face towards the suddenly chaotic gathering before her. "Have ye no faith? Do you think I shall bring you here to die? What then, is purpose of these two gods beside me? Suwako, make a path!"

"Gladly!", Moriya Suwako yells as she stretched her arms out wide, and all of a sudden, the huge mound of soft earth before the crowd split in two, revealing smooth, level ground between two tall walls of roiling sand.

"Moses' miracle, in sand form," retorted Kanako as she observed the familiar scene before her. "You are the worst rip-off ever, Suwako. Don't you know I helped the lone Israelite Deity Yahweh create the original?"

The little frog goddess shrugged her shoulders in indifference as she said, "I just thought that it looked cooler and more mighty than just destroying the mountain entirely. You can also blame those 'bible stories' books you gave me… as well as the unimaginative author we have."

Is this a moment when we authors say ouch? Alright. Ouch.

Anyways, the crowd suddenly hushed and, after a few seconds, started chattering about the miracle. A few literate in the outside world's stories nodded as they recognise the scene and, along with the readers currently reading this fic, nodded their heads as they concluded their writer to be one worthless piece of… alright, I'll stop.

The crowd hesitated, then Reimu's team took the lead, the crowd following soon after. It took another hour for the masses to go through the thin the bottleneck that was the pathway Suwako created and the goddess momentarily considered widening the passageway, but then dropped the idea, since it might scare off a few individuals.

When they reached the other side of the passageway, the crowd soon found itself pouring into a large desolate area shielded from the rest of Gensokyo by a tall mountain range, of which the sand-berg they got just got through was a part of. And, some distance away, was a small vertical whirlpool floating in midair and, surrounding it are Reimu to the front and the two goddesses to the sides.

The shrine maiden raised her hand and chanted a few words. Instantly, a powerful magical pressure burst from the centre of the whirlpool as it expanded into a white hole.

**To the next dream…**

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><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Written 2012:07:10~2012:07:29;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Ota Jun'ya for creating the lovely game series called Touhou and spawning the world through which I gained many new friends and the reason I am able to write this Fanfiction in the first place. In fact, without him, such wonderful people as Willie G.R., Neko Kuro, Shen, Kerreb and SorrowfulReincarnation would have remained total strangers to me. **

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Like the previous chapter, it seems like this chapter will be full of descriptions as well. Don't worry… here comes the exodus. You know Moses? Well, somebody's did a mirror of his 'splitting the sea' here. Yup, it's a bit like the exodus, I think… but then again, it IS an exodus.

Oh, and apologies to the Jews, Samaritans, Muslims and my fellow Christians, but I just couldn't resist referencing that scene.

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><p>FOOTNOTES<p>

If you don't know it, the scene about the mountain splitting is a nod to Moses' miracle.


	19. 4 : A Shocking Change

**_Embodiment of Torturous Death_**

**_4 : A Shocking Change_**

**_O~O_**

**_Come to me, mine dear sister, and let us conclude our centuries-old strife_**

**_I am looking for thee, and oh will one of us lose her life!_**

* * *

><p><strong>[Themes for this Chapter are [<strong>**月夜の屋上で****], [****いつのまにかの濃厚ストーリー****] and [****わるもの****] from the game [Yume Miru Kusuri], since they have just the right feel, I suppose.]**

**Bamboo Forest of the Lost**

Something was wrong. _Dreadfully wrong_.

Sayu never felt as drained as this and as far as her memory goes, at least to the point where she needs to drain magic from mana streams, a seemingly pointless skill when it was shoved in her face, what with her supposed limitless spiritual vigour.

It proved to be quite a powerful ability, however, for without it, she might have fallen into a comatose state as soon as she enacted the barrier around her scaffold- or at least it is a scaffold in her eyes. While becoming comatose out of magical drainage might have been alright for some people, since they always recover as soon as their reserves are restored, it would have been the worst thing to happen to Sayu, since that would have meant that the barrier would have collapsed and while she did not fear for herself at all, Youmu and Kotori could have died from the poison.

Oh, yes… those two, she must give great care to the safety of the two, since Youmu is her only sparring partner and was entrusted to her by the ghost princess… or so it would seem. And Kotori, she's her only companion as well, the only one who could accompany her everywhere. She could not risk having either of the two die lest her life in Gensokyo be ruined, in one way or another.

Sayu took the blade of her left-hand sword out of the ground; she had been leaning unto it when she was regaining energy and had stabbed it at least a foot into the ground in the process.

She held the blade horizontally and slowly brought it up until the gleaming metal was level with her eyes. There was a bit of mud at the part of the sword that went under the ground. With a quick, smooth swipe, Sayu pushed the mud off the sword with her right hand, a bit of wind magic coating her fingers, both protecting them from the blade and acting like a cloth wipe at the same time.

Sayu glanced at the sword again. Spotlessly clean. Good.

She looked around her and took in the vile sight of venom in the air and tainting the pure forest. The questionable human glances upwards; Youmu and Kotori would recover soon, but even when they did, the half-ghost won't be able to return to the world of the dead with death in the way.

It's quite ironic, for someone the least bit ghastly to be blocked from going to the world of the dead by a veil of death, but it's real; sore real, and Sayu must find a way to get the ghost through.

Surely, she couldn't keep Youmu in a small preventive barrier like the one she made, since no matter how hard she tried, the creation of mobile barriers is something she could never fathom; she was a student of magic in many schools in the outside world many times already in the past, when magic still held sway, but even as her classmates –most of them her juniors by hundreds of years- freely played around with mobile barriers, she could not move hers by an inch.

She couldn't keep Youmu in a crate as well, since no matter how hard people –or even youkai- try, it is just impossible to create an airtight crate with the materials available to her; wood, mud, and more wood.

She could also try to keep Youmu in the scaffold until the fog fades, but it might take forever for it to do so and somehow, she felt that she mustn't keep the princess of The Netherworld waiting. At times like this, there is only one solution, and that is…

She sheathed her sword; it's decided. She shall beat the holy heavens out of the person behind the fog and make sure he or she shall banish the awful fog from the land and suffer punishment for nearly killing the two white-haired girls inside her scaffold.

Sayu jumped up and then spun several times, trying out her newfound magic; she was much more stable than she was before, but then she also felt much weaker, her body somehow heavier than it was before. She already filled her reserves to the most full, and kept on taking from the mana stream even when the excess vaporised into a small magical fog around her, but to her dismay, she never got rid of the strange lack of energy.

It's as if she was once a ten-litre bottle that was reduced to being a one centilitre bottle. She felt like she should have nine litres and nine centilitres more than she had, but couldn't get herself to gain as much.

She dropped to the ground and sighed; she already felt a lot weaker, but…

She raised her face skywards. …she won't let that stop her; she'll get rid of the fog, weak or NT.

* * *

><p><strong>Sayu's Scaffold<strong>

Youmu opened a door and entered the room she and Kotori woke up in a while ago; the white-haired youkai was still there, playing a slow melancholic tune on a _wagon._ Not _wagon_, as in _big cart_, but _wagon _as in_ ancient musical instrument_, the other name of which is _yamatogoto_.

The half-ghost hesitates for a second, not willing to disturb the small youkai. Her playing was crude, with a lot of mistakes as would be expected from a beginner, but the tone still came out and filled the air with a depressingly dark aura. Kotori plucks a few more notes before putting it aside and finally noticing Youmu for the first time since the half-ghost entered the room when she looked up and found herself staring eye-to-eye with the swordswoman.

"A-ah, Youmu-san!" gasped Kotori; her face turned red like the sunset and her eyes wide as the pacific. She felt ashamed: she played the wagon when she thought that no-one was around. Youmu said it would take her a while, so she decided to play a short piece on her wagon while waiting. What she did not expect was that Youmu would return so soon.

An awkward silence hovered between the two for some two seconds or so, the little youkai's breathing getting deeper and her face redder whilst Youmu's skin bleached white, her blood running cold as she feared that she might have somehow discouraged the youkai from playing instruments again.

"A-ah, that's fine. Good playing, Kotori," stuttered Youmu as she broke the silence. "… and there really is a barrier and a mist outside," she added. She had gone off a while ago to test whether Sayu's words as in the letter held true. She couldn't see either the mist or the barrier from the dining room—the lesser dining room, to be exact, since the lesser dining room was situated in the inner sections of the scaffold. The greater dining room, which doubled as a living room, was at the outer areas.

"I told you so," said Kotori as she stood up, still somewhat weakened by the venom in her blood. Youmu recovered earlier, since her faster metabolism meant that the venom was pushed out of her system faster than that of Kotori. "Sayu-sama's written words are always true," she stated. Unlike Youmu, who doubted that there really was a fog or a barrier, Kotori believed the letter right away.

Of course, it could also have something to do with the fact that Youmu barely had a second to see a slight purple tinge in the clouds before she blacked out while Kotori had three.

"What are we going to do now?" asked Youmu, worry evident in her voice. She worries for her mistress, who might worry for her as well unless she returns to Hakugyokurou in one week… rather, make it one day. Also, who's going to cook for that ever-hungry ghost?

Yuyuko could starve to death!

Kotori mulled over it for a second before she drawled out the words, "I don't know… I think we should do as the letter says and do as we please as long as we keep away from the barrier."

The seconds passed and Youmu's eyebrows knitted together. For all her frowning, she couldn't do a thing and, with a sigh, flopped down unto the ground…

…only to forget that she did not have a futon below her and her below crashed rather painfully with the hard wood.

* * *

><p><strong>Bamboo Forest<strong>

The bamboo stalks shooting past her were starting to bore Sayu. They were endless, and to one new to the forest, it would seem like they were going around in circles. Sayu knew that she was not chasing her own tail, and knew that she was moving straight forward for she was following the trail of bamboo on which she laid scars when she flew out like some sort of hypersonic missile not too long ago, but it was just taking too long for her to get out of the sea of titanic grass.

Before, she would have shot out of the forest at the insane speed she had gotten used to, but it seemed so that it was gone, and she had been reduced to what she estimated to be close to eighty or a hundred kilometres an hour.

"…ouch!"

She heard a shocked, surprised childish voice exclaim as she felt something hit her foot, but ignored it and went on at the highest speed she could muster, which, in actuality, was quite fast, since most natives fly at speeds close to seventy kilometres per hour, with notable exceptions such as the Hakurei, who could go past a hundred and the tengu and black-white, who could break the sound barrier in the same way Sayu used to do.

"Hey, come back here, usa! Come back here… I'll kill you!" growled the voice of the person who she presumed was the one hit by her foot, but ignored it like before, leaving the person to start screaming the fires out of hell. "Silence!" commanded another, more mature voice, which was replied with a dull sound, like wood hitting flesh, and, along with the mature person's cries of pain was the hysteric screaming of the childish one, "I Kill You!"

The mature voice started bawling and the bamboo stalks were witness to a chase as the childish one's screaming turned to maniacal laughter, but Sayu could not care less about those two and did not slow down the least.

Finally, she could see the bamboo starting to thin out until finally, it blended in with the outer fringes of another forest; a forest of fat, gnarled and ancient trees; the Forest of Magic. Upon seeing the forest in its fog-poisoned state, she could not help but remember how it looked before the mist; 'twas much prettier back then, and the leaves were green, unlike those that Sayu were seeing, which were now black and oozing with black glue.

She could see a small, clean house in the distance and further away, another, more disordered… house, if you could call it that. The inhuman human momentarily considered dropping by them to see if that… Megatron… Megadroid… girl or something was in there and tell her about the book that was entrusted to her, but then decided against it and flew on. She wished to clear the fog as soon as possible, and any delay, no matter how small, is a delay and may also lead to larger delays.

She took flight once more, but before long, strange spheres of miasma started appearing in front of her and shooting toxic danmaku her way. Odd… did someone somehow find out that she wanted to end this incident? With too-sweet grin on her face, Sayu decided to play along and shot down the miasma with her own danmaku, which now seemed like bright yellow comets.

More and more spheres appear in front of Sayu, though strangely, none appear behind her and every time, they get shot down. After a while, the forest itself seemed to turn hostile to Sayu and the plants joined in, dripping venom from shrivelled black tentacles that they use to shoot at Sayu from the sides, though like the miasma, they got gunned down as well.

Before long, the attacks stopped and Sayu secretly chuckled when she realised how embarrassingly weak her attackers had been. However, before her amusement could be transmitted to her brain, a large, corrupt flower suddenly burst out of the ground, shaped like a rafflesia with huge purple petals, throbbing scarlet veins, a single shiny, wet tentacle rising from the centre of the bloom and an unearthly vile scent worse than everything Sayu had smelled so far, leagues more so than the rafflesias she saw and sniffed in the outside world.

The vile, wet tentacle started wriggling like some sort of crazed worm and randomly shot varied colourful bullets in Sayu's direction. The attack wasn't impressive at all; in fact, it was child's play for Sayu, and it would have been even easier without the revolting smell to distract her. She managed to blast two petals off, but it quickly became apparent that it only managed to enrage the plant, for it suddenly started shooting bullets that suddenly expanded when they get as little as within a metre away from Sayu.

The questionable human hummed a soft tune and lightly nodded; _this plant creature is persistent_, she admits. She blew off two more leaves, leaving three leaves behind, and then, as the tentacle somehow grew, she muttered under her breath;_ I can do this._

In the end, despite its resilience, the plant was destroyed and all that remained of it was a pair of bright red glowing spots under where it once stood, but before she could move any further, she was blocked yet again, this time by a green-haired bo- girl with bug antennae, baggy blue jeans and a white shirt.

Wriggle Nightbug; that be her name. She was a firefly youkai who gained infamy amongst humans for being a very active prank in the part of the lesser Forest of Magic, where it was a considerably less heavily wooded and safer than the western side, the 'great' Forest of Magic, where two magicians have settled down in.

Sayu was in the western part of the Forest of Magic, and 'twas strange for the firefly youkai to show her face around that area of the Forest of Magic. Indeed, wriggle even despised the greater Forest of Magic and often kept away from it because the youkai –and even the plants- there were less friendly than those of the smaller eastern parts and won't stop at eating lesser youkai such as her.

However, her presence in the Forest of Magic was not the only thing strange about her, for running all round the bug youkai's body like vines on an old abandoned house were purple veins not unlike those that covered the 'rafflesia' just a while ago. Her eyes, normally the colour of emerald, were different as well, being the colour of rubies.

"Ah," exclaimed Sayu when she saw the bug girl and the empty look on those ruby eyes. "Wouldst thou fancy fleeing from mine way?"

Wriggle stayed silent for a second or two before she slowly opened her mouth and, her face emotionless, started screaming like a bloody banshee. Out of the screaming, Sayu could barely make out a few words. "KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILL! MAIM! BURN!"

"Mine God, a ghoul?" gasped Sayu as she stepped up with a very realistic look of surprise and shock in her eyes.

"KILL! MAIM! BURN! KILLMAIMBURN!"

Sayu sidestepped the firefly youkai as she suddenly flung herself unto the human, drool spilling from her wide-open mouth as she kept screaming her weird chant. As the firefly rushed past her, Sayu made a crooked smile show.

She knew that the firefly was still alive, but she wasn't too wrong on the ghoul part either; Wriggle had numerous bite marks all over her skin—possibly from the youkai-and-man-eating plants living in the greater Forest of Magic and possibly also with some help from the corrosive venom in the air slowing her natural youkai regeneration. And, due to said marks, one could easily dismiss the firefly as a zombie… or ghoul. Either works fine.

Sayu drew her left-hand sword—Agakara, and swung it at Wriggle as she recovered from her momentum and came flying towards Sayu again. The firefly's face showed surprise for a split second but managed to draw and roughly declare a spell card just before the wavy blade hit her neck.

It was somewhat disheartening and shocking to Sayu when her blade failed to cut the youkai's neck in half. Instead, the firefly drew out a spellcard and declared it at the last moment. It saved her life; declaring a spell card activates the spell card rules and while they are active, all melee weapons become non-lethal along with deadly abilities like the ghost princess' manipulation of death.

It didn't mean that it didn't hurt though, and once the sword slashed clean through her, Wriggle's spellcard broke and she was left with a tremendous pain in her neck, as if the blade really did cut it in half.

Sayu chuckled as she drew her own card. With the rules activated, she would have to take the firefly down with her weakest cards; standard danmaku would take too long and using her more powerful cards would be a waste on such a weak youkai, with the additional pain of having to absorb energy from the environment if she ever burns out which, on a mana stream, would take at least half an hour and, on open air, up to half an hour, and that meant delay as well.

The human glanced at the card in her hand; it's yet another one of those spells in the book she read a while back, but instead of powering it up, she powered it down. She traced her eyes on the glimmering rainbow that was the card, and then focused on the name written on the card.

"Taboo: Lichter Rehn!" she declared, and from behind Wriggle appeared shard danmaku in rainbow colours that flew towards Sayu. The apparently-possessed wriggle roughly evades the shards, getting grazed by the bullets around six times before they stopped spawning.

The shards hovered above and behind Sayu and then, as soon as the last shard joined on in the cloud of colour, they started falling back towards wriggle in random speeds and directions, with no hint of a pattern, if there was one.

Sayu developed Lichter Rehn from the spell "Starbrow Break," which was listed in that book Sayu read as belonging to Flandre Scarlet of Koumakan. To a casual onlooker, the two spells would seem very similar… identical, almost. However, one who has experienced Starbrow Break would notice that Sayu's take on the spell had lighter barrages, both on the spawning, where the bullets would fly towards Sayu, and on the precipitation, where the bullets would fall towards her opponent.

Wriggle, who only managed to get barely grazed on the spawning of the bullets, suddenly found herself hard-pressed to dodge the random bullets of the rainbow-coloured shower raining down on her.

As she navigated the spell, she shot in Sayu's general direction and managed to hit the humanlike inhuman nonhuman human, startling her a bit, since she never expected the bug girl to fire back, given how Wriggle seemed to be in danger, but not enough to break her spell.

At least until Sayu saw the 'danmaku' and realised that it was a big mutant bedbug that positioned itself on her arm, getting ready to perform traumatic insemination on her.

With a shocked scream, she brushed the bedbug off and sliced it in half, but the distraction was enough for her card to break and, wriggle, her face blank as always, drew out her second card for the battle.

"Firefly Sign: Meteor on Earth"

Eight meteor-like points of light flew out from Wriggle moving slightly clockwise outwards while trailing sphere danmaku behind them. Then, as they shot past Sayu, the danmaku nearest to Wriggle started scattering and then disappearing as Wriggle shot larger danmaku in a circle around her.

Sayu moved to the side confidently as the first wave flew by her while shooting at the bug in the meantime. The meteor-like things flew by again and another wave of the larger danmaku flew by her as she moved aside again, a smile on her face. To her, such a pattern is almost too easy and predictable.

By the third wave, Sayu succeeded in knocking the firefly down to the ground as she did so, the questionable human ran towards the downed body of her foe. When she got closer, she could see that the purple veins on her body were disappearing as purple mist slowly left the youkai's body through the regenerating wounds.

Despite not being drained too much, Sayu decided to drain from the ground nevertheless and did so while keeping an eye on the little bug.

It took only ten or so seconds before Sayu recovered her lost energy and, deciding that she had little reason to be there, flew away immediately. Shortly after she left, Wriggle awakens, her eyes back to their soft emerald hue.

She looked around in confusion, rubbed her eyes, and, her throat hurting from the poison she involuntarily breathed in, she weakly asked "Where am I?"

* * *

><p><strong>Southern Gensokyo: Hidden Wasteland<strong>

Hakurei Reimu stood before a whirlpool of magical energy floating in midair and glowing brightly in a bluish light. She recognised it immediately: A book she scared out of the cat shikigami Chen said that this was a gateway—in fact, the one and only gateway of the Hakurei barrier.

Unlike portals which are tunnels between two unconnected realms, gateways are connectors between two realms sharing the same barrier, but not the same space. The reason for there being a gateway in the Hakurei Border is that because it contained not only Gensokyo, but a second realm that was separated from Gensokyo by a thin bottleneck between Gensokyo's part and that of the other realms. A good analogy would be a tube balloon twisted at the centre to form two linked, but cut off pockets of air sharing the same balloon, with Gensokyo being one of the pockets, the other realm the other pocket, the balloon being the Hakurei Border, and the twisted part separating the two pockets of air being the gateway, the difference being that the separation point was not twisted, but rather pinched shut like what you would get if you use a sealer on a paper bag.

Reimu remembered the spell she needed to open the portal as well and without further ado, pointed at the whirlpool and started chanting the spell while pouring her own energies into it. As the last of the youkai and humans pour out of the artificial canyon she had the earth Moriya goddess create, she finished her chant and the whirlpool burst wide into a large white hole, then after a few seconds, settled down into a four-metre circular opening two feet off the ground, showing a dense tropical jungle on the other side.

She had successfully opened the portal and evidence of the oneness of Gensokyo and the world on the other side came when warm, damp air smelling of soil and wild spices flow from the other world into Gensokyo; portals between two worlds don't allow that, only letting those pushed through the barrier to go through, natural pressure notwithstanding. Thus, if you open a portal towards the bottom of the ocean, water will not gush through it like a spring, but instead, it will crush anything that goes through it with pressure. Strangely, putting a straw into such a gap would let pressurised water flow through the gap.

The scent of the tropics wafted into the clean air within the small barrier Reimu erected. For the Gensokyo natives, both youkai and human, the scent was new and alien; for the rare few that had gone to a tropical forest, such as the earth goddess Moriya, who was worshipped in the tropics as Riyuta and the flower youkai Kazami, who often went to the Malay archipelago before Gensokyo's creation to tend to rafflessias, it brought back old memories and a strange familiar feel.

Reimu Hakurei looked at her sides at the two Moriya goddesses and pointed at the ground below her. Reacting to the signal, Kanako and Suwako walked as close to Reimu as possible.

"Suwako-san, I will go first, then the humans, and then finally the youkai. You are to guide the humans and their guardians through the gate and," she turned to Kanako and, looking at her straight in the eye, continued, "You, Kanako-san, will be the one to guide the youkai through."

The two goddesses nodded swiftly in agreement; there was no need to protest. While Suwako might have been the one all familiar with the youkai and Kanako a bit famous to the humans, arguing over it would just be a delay.

Reimu stepped through the portal and, once on the other side, turned and said to the two goddesses; "Suwako-san, get in only when you are sure those I have entrusted to you have all gotten through and, Kanako-san, lead the youkai through only when Suwako-san has crossed over."

The two goddesses nodded only slightly, then Suwako started leading the humans and the tengu through, starting with Akyuu as Kanako started moving about, sorting the youkai not guarding the humans into a group some distance away.

* * *

><p><strong>Farmlands<strong>

Sayu has been flying for a while and in the distance, she could see the human village quite clearly. However, something seemed off about it. It was too silent… was everyone in it dead?

Her eyes spotted a trail of footsteps on the dirt road outside the eastern gate and realised that there had been an evacuation, and that's a good thing.

…but if it has been evacuated, why can't she shake off the feeling that the village was not really empty?

Curious, she flew over the gate and looked around at the houses, then at the public square, then at the houses again. It had been so busy and lively just a day or two ago, and she couldn't believe how silent it the town before her now was.

On her third round, she spotted a small hill far, far away and noticed that the fog was particularly thick there, she decided that there would be nothing interesting or of help to her quest in an empty village and since she valued her honour too much for her to stoop to plundering the vulnerable spot, she decided to investigate the hill instead. however, just as she was about to fly off, she felt a danmaku shot hitting her stomach.

"HALT!"

**To the next dream…**

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Yukari [Kasumi], Sayu[ndobiigahujan Ginsapamatosin] and Kotori [Simada] belong to Zurocha**

**Written 2012:07:030~2012:08:05;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Certain Adults IRL, who became the source of confusion and disbelief for me. They all claimed that Bill Gates invented the Computer. WTF? What's more, they also made the people IRL around me believe them. DOUBLE WTF!**

**No one person invented the computer. It was and is the culmination of millennia of work by humans all over the world. What's the world's first computer? The counting pebbles resting on grooves in the ground that became the abacus in time. Who made those stones and grooves? It was made at different times by different people without knowledge of each other in the long past. Who are they? Even if hell froze over a billion times, we will never know.**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

Augh… future tense, past tense, blergh! Some sentences just won't work converted to future tense.

Oh, and that /Kill! Maim! Burn!/ part was a reference to some story about ghosts… I forgot the name of the book though.

And, whew! Look at how it changed from being so happy and light to dark and ominous in the space of two or so chapters. Don't worry; this atmosphere change is a plan of mine. In fact, I would like to believe that the atmosphere of the chapters do not stay rooted to the story, but rather to the arc.

It was a bit Comedy Central-ish at the start with some random laughs here and there at the last arc and a bit like Undying Gensokyo during this one… what with the mist and all. And oh, before you start thinking of me as a Marisa and such, the mist idea was not taken from that fic, but rather developed when I saw that Medicine's special in PoFV took on the guise of an EVIL mist that slows you a flaming bloody lot. I just had to have a Medicine/Poison-centred ARC and on seeing that special ability, I thought "Why not?" and started from there. Oh, and that part where the venom 'possesses' wriggle, well, it was a sudden idea as well. And no, she was not possessed. She was driven mad by the pain and got snapped when the venom entered her bloodstream. The venom is semi-sentient, so it left her and spared her from more torture when she became all useless… for now. What? Oopsie…

The venom also corrupted the semi-sentient plants in the Forest of Magic, and since it's the only forest to have semi-sentient plants, don't expect random plants to go about attacking Sayu again soon. No, normal plants would die immediately… oh wait, POOR PLANTS!

Wait, weren't the Sunflower field's sunflowers semi-sentient as well? Oh damn…

Oh, and blessings to Willie G.R… May his computer get fixed soon and all his data intact. I can relate with his current situation as I have experienced a similar, but greater event, and I give him my sympathies. If it's alright for Willie, I hope you pray for his fortune…

…and I'm being serious here.

* * *

><p>FOOTNOTES<p>

Lichter Regn (Rechn?) / Lighter Rehn (Rein? Reen?) – Old English, roughly translates to "Light (as in Moonlight) Rain." Or "Rain of Light." It's easy to guess from what spell card Sayu derived this from.

The archaic for "Rain" was listed in the dictionary as either Regn or Rēn. I chose the latter, which I wrote as Rehn.


	20. 5 : The Southern Paradise: Who's Bad?

**When the Going gets tough,**

**The Tough eat grapes.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Embodiment of Torturous Death<em>**

**_5 : The Southern Paradise: Who's Bad?_**

* * *

><p><strong>Southern Paradise<strong>

The last of the youkai from Gensokyo walked through the gateway into the humid, tropical paradise that Reimu lead them to and, when Yasaka Kanako, sure that all the youkai have indeed crossed over, went through the portal as well and shortly after, the Hakurei maiden closed it with a simple command. The portal showing the dying Gensokyo slowly became smaller and smaller until it collapsed into a small whirlpool identical to what it was before it was opened.

"What now, Reimu?" asked the Moriya earth goddess, Suwako, half-buried in the ground.

Oh, of course the ground was not that soft; Suwako, being an earth goddess, had the ability to swim through earth like a dolphin would swim through water.

"Call the other Moriya goddess first," said Reimu distractedly as she looked to her sides and then, a while later, the Suwako just having gone off to find Kanako, popped a strawberry lollipop into her mouth when she was sure no-one was looking.

Meanwhile, the near-innumerable youkai and humans found themselves trying to deal with the soil, which seemed at first to be solid soil, but turned out to be a foot-deep layer of soft mud over a more solid layer of silt. For all of them, it was a brand-new experience; moist, spicy air, soft, icky mud and moss-ridden trees all 'round them. The carefree youkai and the innocent children were having a blast, playing with the mud and forming mud-castles. The flesh-eating youkai even joined in, an unspoken temporary truce between them and the humans so that they could join in on the fun. The more 'mature' adult humans, on the other hand, were more occupied with keeping their clothes and good shoes away from the ground.

Laughter filled the air and amongst the joyful masses, Moriya Suwako found the Moriya storm goddess revelling amongst the youkai; her clothes were messy and spattered with mud, her hair untidy and a happy grin on her face. Apparently, she had been having a mudball fight with a bunch of youkai.

"Hey, Kanako!" called out the cute little froggy-goddess, waving her little arms in front of the taller, but younger goddess' face. Alas, it seemed like Kanako did not hear and, with a big "Fire in the Hole," threw a fist-sized mudball at a mud-caked mouse youkai.

In return, a wolf tengu threw a slightly smaller, but still formidable piece of earth aimed at Kanako. However, it just had to miss horribly and hit Moriya Suwako instead.

Moriya Suwako felt something wet and hard hit the back of her neck and knew what it was immediately. She could feel the clammy cold touch of the mudball on her smooth, divine skin and she hated it. She hated it so much she could cry… and she did. It was a few tears at first, but it soon became a flood when the little goddess started bawling like a baby.

Yasaka Kanako had to hold her mouth as she cuddled Suwako in an attempt to calm her down and to avoid seeing that unbearably adorable face. It's a wonder why she did not collapse as soon as she saw that face, for lesser beings have been known to happily die of heart failure from just getting a glimpse of such cuteness.

Everyone around the two, curious, turned around and fell down one-by-one, rivers of blood gushing from their noses like water from a hot spring.

Well, if heart failure doesn't do it, then death by blood loss is another way to go.

The storm goddess gently patted the back of while hushing her older but younger comrade, and in half a minute, her bawling was reduced to a light sobbing, but by then, it was too late, and over a hundred youkai and humans had already fallen down, their combined blood somehow forming a giant red "No Regrets" message on the ground.

Amongst the field of corpses and blood was a sole survivor; our beloved miko of Hakurei. She held her gohei to the side, and, after one tense second, raised it above her and slammed it into the ground. The effect was immediate; the seemingly lifeless bodies suddenly jumped up, then fell down again, only to stand up again, gradually as Reimu slowly raised her gohei like a conductor does.

Reimu stretched her arms to the sides and unwittingly hit a youkai's skull, creating a sound like that of a bass drum that set the youkai in motion; hip-hop dance, to be specific.

The nearby youkai started banging on the trees, making a one-two-one-two sort of beat while the others went and performed the pumping dance move like what Michael Jackson did in Billie Jean, all the while all the other youkai not involved just watched from the air.

When a lone green-haired parasol-bearing flower youkai started doing the moonwalk, surrounded by lesser youkai still doing the pumping move, Hakurei Reimu suddenly snapped out of whatever trance she was in to ignore such an event and realised what the youkai are doing and well… her jaw dropped to the ground. Who could expect youkai to dance like that all of a sudden?

She felt a pair of hands pull on her skirt and, as soon as she saw who did so, she had to blink twice, confused as hell. When did Suwako and Kanako ever move to her side? She ponders about it for a moment, but then decided it would be best to leave it alone. For all she knows, maybe they walked over while the youkai were busy with their choreography? Maybe…

Reimu was about to stoop down and talk to Suwako when suddenly, there was a final bang on whatever the youkai are drumming and all the dancers suddenly pointed their hand towards the sky, hands on their hips and, at the exact same moment, they said, "Who's Bad!"

Immediately after, they dancers dispersed like nothing ever happened and Reimu, sparing herself a sigh, formed a square with herself, Suwako, Kanako, and somehow, Marisa. "Listen, she said. "We will split ways here."

* * *

><p><strong>Characters, spell cards and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice<strong>

**Michael Jackson is Michael Jackson.**

**Written 2012:08:07~2012:08:07;****UTC+8**

**Written by: Zurocha, the Blood-Tea-Lovin' Vampire of Ragnarök**

**Assists: None**

**Special Credits: Michael Jackson, for creating wonderful music that I and many others enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR NOTES<strong>

The story made a turn for the serious, but I can still joke, can't I?

NO MORTAL SHALL STAY STANDING WHEN SUWAKO DOTH SHED TEARS!

And yeah… a very big Michael Jackson reference. Why did I make this chapter so… light? The same reason why ZUN made Rin's theme so happy.

It's also the smallest ever chapter (I think) to be a part of the arc /EoTD/.

Another reason is that I can't seem to find a scene to fill up the space between the exodus and the negotiations, so I made this and whoopie!

* * *

><p>Michael Jackson FTW. 'nuff said!<p> 


End file.
